Love Me Un
by Ninjashallow
Summary: Deidara's life, on how he suffers from the cruel treatment of his father and village, and how he searches for love and happiness meeting Sasori in the Akatsuki. WARNING: SasoDei,child abuse,Violence,yaoi,rape,Slight OOC!
1. Chapter 2 Watching eyes

Chapter 2 Watching eyes

My eyes opened as the morning light illuminated the room, I don't even remember falling asleep, I must have passed out from the knock to the head. When I woke up a little more, and rub my eyes, I suddenly remember what happened last night and I feel really sick in my stomach. I look down at the bed sheets, just as I thought, they are covered in dried blood, I feel dried blood on my mouth too. I look under the sheets, there's dark purple bruises on my chest, and it hurts to move, in shock I also see some of my father's dried semen sticking to my chest and sheets. Ugh I'm gonna get sick for real, I quickly climb out of the bed, feeling dirty just thinking how I feel asleep on the messy bed sheets. My body's in real pain, he kicked me more times than I though.

I glance at the clock on the wall, shit it's almost 8.30, I might be late for class, I won't have time to take a shower. My heart feels another sudden shock as I remember it's a Thursday, my father won't have gone to work yet. I quickly grab my clothes and go to the bathroom, washing as quickly as I can the cum and blood of my body. I slip on a navy shirt and run a comb roughly through my long blond hair; I don't have time to fix it. I squeeze toothpaste out and begin to brush my teeth, rinsing my mouth, I notice the water is red and bloody, a few of my teeth is missing, but its only baby teeth so they should grow back...for the second time.

Once I grab my ninja kit, I run down stairs, skipping the last few steps. I stop suddenly feeling a trickle of blood spill from my mouth. I wipe it off and walk to the kitchen slower, I guess I can't move too fast, the pain becomes too much. Today's gonna be hard today at the academy.

I walk into the kitchen, and notice my mother cooking breakfast and brother at the table.

'Good morning mother,' I smile politely, my mouth oozes with a little blood but I quickly swallow it. She doesn't answer me; she doesn't even turn her head to acknowledge me. I'm use to this, I just always pretend like she does say "good morning son" back, even if it still hurts every morning when I hear nothing. My brother however, has always something to say.

'well freak! you look like shit, were you up all night again, making those pathetic works of art with your disgusting hands?' he smirked, looking at the dark heavy lines under my eyes. My mother stops scrubing the dish hearing this, but doesn't turn around.

'I just stayed up reading for a while' I lied, making some cereal. He obviously doesn't know _our_ father touches and beats me, but he will believe the lie, I do read a lot of books, mostly about nature and birds. He laughs at this.

'why do you have such a boner for them birds you freak? why don't you go find an actual fucking girlfriend, instead of jerking off in front off them god dam animal books!' I pore the milk into the bowl silently. I don't like fighting with my brother, I mostly act like he is just having fun with me, not really meaning the harsh things e says to me and I think this annoys him even more, the fact that I don't retaliate or say anything back.

'Or do you still have a crush on that hottie Miya?' he sneered. I couldn't stop a blush appearing. Miya was a girl in my class. She was very popular, and very pretty, and too good for someone like me. But I couldn't help but have a crush on her, I once dropped my sketchbook of my drawings of birds, and she picked them up for me, saying they were nice. Her friends just laughed at me, but she smiled and didn't seem to look disgusted with my hands.

'hey freak I'm talking to you!' my brothers words cut through my thoughts. I didn't answer, I just picked at my cereal I didn't know what to say. He scoffed, obliviously irritated at my silence.

'you can forget about it, it's _not like anyone will ever be interested in freak like you anyway!_' he spat, sitting up from the table and grabbing his ninja kit. He always walks to school before me; he never wanted us to be seen together. I stare down at my bowl of cereal, thinking how much he sounded like his father, our father. I tried to tell myself that he didn't mean the things he said, that he was just picking on me like older brothers normally do. It hurt to know the truth deep inside. I wonder if he knew how much pain he caused me.

I swallow another egg cup full of blood in my mouth, and feel a strange sickly substance slid down my throat with as he leaves, I hear my father's booming voice biding him goodbye in the hallway.

'Have a good day son' he says happily, ruffling his hair, like fathers do to their sons...accept me. My heart beats vastly as he walks into the kitchen; he greets my mother before turning his attention to me. I feel his stare on my back.

'Well boy did you have a good nights sleep?' I looked up from my cereal in hurt and confusion. The smile on his face widened when he saw my reaction. he must have known I was in pain all night, I'm sure he heart the sickening crack of each punch he threw at my face, each kick he crashed into my stomach, the shatter of my baby teeth falling to the floor and yet he's standing here smiling at my pain. He must love how hurt I am, I don't understand why he loves hurting me so much, why he says these cruel things just to see how I will react.

My mother has completely stopped washing the dishes; I know she's listening, probably to see if there's any hints in words to if he fucked me last night. I'm sure she noticed how satisfied he was last night going to bed after me sucking his cock. I feel dirty...I'm giving my own mother's husband blowjobs like some whore in those brothels down in our village, and they get payed big money and are treated with respect and care.

His face suddenly turns angry, waiting for my reply; I quickly nod, feeling too risky to open my mouth in case blood spills out. He smirks and sits down at the table, the furtherest away from me. Mother has gone back to washing the dishes. Just as father starts to pour some coffee, my sister walks in.

'Good morning precious!' father greets her, kissing her on the head. She smiles and grabs a glass filling it with orange juice, sitting opposite from me. I look up as I feel her stare on me. I dont know how she feels about me. Shame? Hate? Pity? I'm pretty sure Its pity. She feels sorry for me, yet still not enough to love me or care for me in any way.

And of course I know she feels shame and hate when she is with her friends at school. Shame for being my sister, and hate for me being abnormal and a freak that makes her shamed to be my sister. Either way, she doesn't beat me like my father, ignore me like mother, or start fights with me like my brother. She just doesn't bother with me much.

I smile at her and finish my cereal, getting ready to leave. She won't say it, but she doesn't like me walking to school with her either, so I do her a favour and stay away from her in public. I can tell she's looking at my bruises, and sometimes I think she reads in deeper to my abuse, could she know father touches me? I don't give her time to stare as I grab my Ninja kit and leave my glass at the sink.

My mother turns around and I awkwardly lean in to kiss her goodbye, but she moves out of the way and I quickly pretend to lean in the sink instead, to wash my plate. That happens a lot. I only want a little affection; I end up embarrassed that my own mother doesn't want to touch me. I feel a slight pain in my heart at this though.

'I'll wash them, just go to school' she says quietly and awkwardly over the kiss. I hear guilt in her voice, but I don't look at her face. I don't want to see the rejection.

'Yeah she doesn't want your disgusting mouths all over her good china!' father sneers. I try to ignore what he said. I feel another sick taste in my mouth and quickly swallow it. I just simply bow politely and smile making my way to the door. I don't even try to say goodbye to father, he would probably knock the rest of my teeth out. As usual before my feet leave the door, father calls out into the hallway reminding me to wear gloves.

*********

I always enjoyed the walk to school. Listening to the birds, watching them spread their wings and gild in the morning sun. I wish I could fly like a bird. Maybe someday I will find a way. I take some clay out of my pouch and mould it into a bird like the one in the sky, my hand feels a little weird, like its extra wet or something, but it could be just my hands drooling a little more in the intense heat. When the sculpture is ready, and with a few hand signals it raises up into the air and zooms up to the sky, glittering in the sunlight, its wings spread and flying free, before, with another quick hand symbol, exploding with a bright burst and a loud bang.

I think the sight is beautiful. I dig my hand into the pouch for the second time before suddenly hearing a slight ruffle from the bushes close to me. I scan the area, a slight tingle of fear inside me. What if it was some of my class mates coming to beat me up? I look more closely, waiting for any movement...but there isn't any, it's extremely quiet. Thinking maybe it was a badger or fox, I shrug it off and go back to exploding my beautiful clay birds.

********

As the school of Iwagakure gets closer I put on my gloves, covering my disgusting hands....well I don't think there disgusting, but I must be wrong. Why else would everyone call me a freak? I start to feel a little sick after the walk. My ribs hurt and I can still taste blood in my mouth.

I walk into the toilets as soon as I get to the school, and lean over the bowl, emptying my stomach. I notice it is mostly blood, and this morning cornflakes, but what's that.....ugh I throw up again, feeling sick to my stomach. A creamy white substance is mixed in with the blood. That's what the weird taste in my mouth was all morning. I panic as take off my gloves, and inspect my hands closely.

The same creamy white substances ooze out of my mouth hands, leaking down my wrist. My mouths looking distract and sick. I realise in horror that cum is still inside the mouths and I flush the toilet quickly before bursting the lock open and running to the sink, allowing the hot water to gush down on my palms cleaning the mouths and the sticky cum off of them.

Luckily no one is in here. I resist not throwing up again, the sick images in my head of my father's cum in my mouths made me nauseous and sick, but I don't have time, class starts now. I dry my hands, the mouths tongues rolling out sadly, and I feel a little guilty for being so ruff with them, but I slip on the gloves, this time with an extra pair and go to class, awaiting another day of torture.

I sit at the back of the class, away from the spotlight, nobody sits beside me, when they are asked to the protest, saying how much of a freak I am and how the cant sit beside someone disgusting like me. I sometimes wish for the company, for a friend.

'hey freak! what happened your face?' a boy in my class asked nastily. The rest of the class turn to look at my bruises, my crush Miya taking particular interest. I look up embarrassed, my blue eyes shining with tears, I don't want to answer, I'm afraid more blood will seep from my mouth...or cum! I keep feeling it in my mouth and I'm forced to swallow it.

'Freak, I asked you a question!' Miya watches me, her friends whispering something to her as they giggle. I smile to her, pretending everything is normal. Pain rises up in my chest, I don't like this attention. I don't want my hands anymore, I feel sick, embarrassed, hullimiated.....

'all right class settle down! I have some important news' our Sensei says walking in. I sigh in relief, the class took their attention of me and listened to the Sensei. his face is serious.

'The school has just received warnings from the Hokage, this morning, of sightings of the criminal organization The Akatsuki!' he said in a serious tone, with hints of worry. All the students gasped, with the exception of Deidara, he didn't know why, of course he feared them, but he also respected them and had heard that all the members had betrayed there villages and left, so he could understand, he would give anything to be free of this pain.

They rest of his classmates didn't need to be told who or what the Akatsuki was. Every adult and child in every village across the land knew who the Akatsuki were.

'The Hokage has asked us to be careful and keep watch for any strange activity or unfamiliar strangers in this village. Don't wonder out late at night, don't speak to strangers and if you see any with red clouds on there attire, run away from them immediately and warn the Hokage and ABNU. This message is going across to all the other villages, and we are getting more ANBU in from the hidden leave village. We don't know why they are here, but they may just be passing but in any case just watch yourself!' when the class nodded silently, and the sensei had given the message he took out a Ninjutsu textbook and began reading from it.

The rest of the day, was spend outside in the training field. Despite Deidara's injury's, he hit all targets with Kunai perfectly with little effort. He was top of his class by a long shot. As Deidara made small birds from clay, exploding them as the soared through the sky, interested flaring red eyes watched him from the trees in the distance. Deidara turned for a second feeling a strong flow of charka he didn't recognise. The raven haired frowned and elbowed his partner in the chest

'Conceal you charka flow you idiot!' he whispered. The other complied, doing as he said without question. His eyes shot back to the blond kid, a smirk appearing on his face as he realised that even their Sensei didn't acknowledge the strong flow of a strangers charka, yet the kid did. He would have to take note of that, to inform his leader. Deidara, after scanning the bushes, shrugged and continued making clay birds, waiting for his class to finish the exercise he had completed hours ago.

'Quite a kid huh!' The partner grinned exposing his razor sharp teeth to the other, who nodded silently, in awe at the Childs exceptional skills. But he didn't understand how he had gotten the purple bruises on his face. He shrugged it off, thinking it was maybe from an earlier sparing match and stood up, urging his partner to follow suit. It was a couple of hour's journey back to the base and they had lots to tell their leader.


	2. Chapter 3 The Puppet and Snake

Chapter 3 The puppet and Snake

The Raven haired teenage and his partner finally arrived back at the base, after leaving Iwagakure. Their leader was waiting for them patiently, and as soon as they arrived, they bowed, and launched into speech about Deidara.

'And so you saw his skills, what they can do?' the leader asked seriously. Kisame looked at Itachi, who nodded.

'yes leader –sama, the child was exceptionally skilled for his age.' Itachi replied quietly. Pain smiled as if he was quite pleased with this.

'good, he's still only a child, however I all the members to keep regular watch over him until he is old enough to join, right now he is too young, and probably fears us, we need to wait for an opening for him to join, offer him a place before the ANBU or anyone else can take him. Hearing this Kisame looked at Itachi, who thought for a moment before speaking,

'he may not need much persuading leader-san' he spoke softly. Pain showed a slight flicker of confusion, before leaning back on his chair

'Ohh? And why is that Itachi?' he asked with Interest. Itachi uncharacteristically hesitated; looking at the floor, Kisame then spoke up

'we think the kid has it ruff at home' he said bluntly. The leader took this in before addressing them again.

'and why do you speculate that?' Kisame was a little lost for words, it was Itachi that told him on their journey back to the base, his concerns for Deidara, after spotting bruises' on his face, and how he noticed a slight limp. Kisame didn't see any of this, but then again Itachi never missed a thing, he was quick to spot anything even the slightest abnormal with one glance.

'The child had noticeable bruising around his eye, and I studied his movement, he appeared to have a slight limp,' Pain rested his chin between his fingers, a slight frown appearing between his eyes, Itachi noticed his change in mood and quickly added 'although I could be wrong, it may have been from a earlier sparing match'

'but your instincts told you otherwise?'

'At first it I was convinced it was from training, but on our way back to the base, I thought about it more and I confided in Kisame,' Itachi was silent again, he knew the leader understood.

'very well, as cruel as it may sound, we will benefit from the Childs bad treatment in the village, if it is happening, he will be easier to retain' Itachi eyes creased, and Kisame looked a little surprise.

'and if it isn't, we will persuade him to join us somehow. Until then, keep watch in turns and give me regular updates, I don't want to let this one slip. Excellent work, you' are dismissed. Both Kisame and Itachi bowed before leaving the room. Just as the door closed, it opened again. A women with short blue hair walked over to pains desk, sitting on it.

'How did it go?' she asked softly. Pain leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples.

'Over all well, a little complication, but nothing to worry about for now.' She smiled and sat up, placing her hands on his shoulders and massaging them softly.

'your stressed, aren't you?'

'a little I guess, it's just some of the villages' have been spotting us, I guess I put the members under too much pressure, I'm having problems with Orochimaru and now I have my eyes set on a this talented child, who I know will be valuable for our organisation and I'm afraid it will fall through.'

'don't worry about them, they are coping fine. I'll tell the others to keep a watch on Orochimaru and as for this kid, I'm sure he would love to be in the Akatsuki, who wouldn't, having a wonderful leader like you!!' she smiled leaning in to kiss him. Pain laughed, knowing how wrong that last remark sounded, the Akatsuki was hated and feared by villages all across the land, but he could help but feel better after talking to Konan.

'okay, I have some work to do, so I'll see you at dinner tonight.' She said walked over to the door.

'right, and could you tell Sasori I want to see him when he gets back from his mission,'

'no problem'

'Oh and Konan...Thanks' he said a little sheepishly. Konan smiled and closed the door.

****************

Deidara walked home after class, in the cool evening breeze. He never walked fast, always taking the longest route to his home, if he could even call it that. He took of his gloves, giving the mouths air to breath, before he reached home. It was getting dark, and the moon cast an eerie glow over the silent, deserted street. He couldn't wait to take a hot bath, to wash away every trace of his father that had been on him all day. Thankfully the taste in his mouth was gone, and he had washed his mouth hands several times that day, to get rid of all the substances, but he still felt contaminated.

Not too far away, hazel brown eyes followed Deidara through the trees. Keeping enough distance from the child, Itachi had told him, the child was talented for his age, and would sense his presences if he was too close. The man scoffed to himself, he was impressed that the kid won Itachi's respect; Itachi never praised any ninja, kid or adult, other that maybe the Akatsuki members. It had taken Itachi a while to admit admiration for his puppeteer skills. But he highly doubted this kid was anything special. In any case he keep his distance, as ordered by Pain.

He came to a sudden stop when he sensed a sudden strong flow of charka. Deidara, lost in thought, didn't realise the tall shadowed figure in front of him, and walked straight into him. He lost balance and fell to the dusty ground, looking up alarmed and gasped when he recognised the figure. An old man smiled down at him and offered him a hand. Deidara hastily took it and bowed in front of him, averting his eyes to the ground.

'I-I'm...s-sorry, Tsuchikage, I-I didn't s-see you!' Deidara quickly stuttered.

'Ah, young Deidara...' Deidara looked up, surprise that he knew his name, before suddenly realising he wasn't wearing any gloves; nobody else in this village had hands like him so it was obvious he was the freak called Deidara. He hastily withdrew his hand and searched frantically in his coat for his gloves, while uttering apologies.

'It's quite all right child,' the Tsuchikage said, 'I find them quite....interesting, to say the least'. He surveyed Deidara with interest, his eyes glazing over Deidara's pale smooth skin in the moonlight. A lump formed in Deidara's throat, he felt uncomfortable in this man's presence.

Sasori looked from the bushes, observing the blond child. It was difficult to see in the dark night, still Sasori could make out the long blond hair tied up loosely, and the stunning blue eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness. So this is the kid, Leader-san wants in the organization. He smirked to himself, wait until Orochimaru see's this child, he thought to himself. His partner had a taste for innocent, good looking children, and Sasori was repulsed to be his partner.

'The moon is beautiful this evening, wouldn't you agree?' he smiled politely, gazing into Deidara's soft blue eyes, licking his lips. Deidara merely nodded, keeping his eyes to the ground.

'I understand you are at the top of your class Deidara, you must work hard'

'I-I try my b-best sir' Deidara replied quietly, still looking at anywhere but the old man. The Tsuchikage smiled sleekly.

'such beautiful eyes you have, my child' he said, gazing into the bright ocean of blue eyes. Deidara felt uncomfortable, the man stared at him, his pale creamy neck, his eyes.

'I won't brother y-you sir' Deidara bowed, turning to leave, but the man touched his shoulder, and lifted his chin up until their eyes met. Deidara had butterflies in his stomach; he flinched slightly at the touch, feeling uneasy. The old man smiled, brushing his bony hand along Deidara's smooth skin.

'I hope to see you again, child' Deidara merely nodded and gave a stiff bow before turning and walking away quickly. He didn't look back, to see the sickly smile on the Tsuchikage face.

Brown coated eyes followed the Tsuchikage, from a nearby bush, until he was out of sight. When he could no longer sense the old man's charka, he stood up and walked to the spot where they had just been. He could no longer see Deidara; he must have run the rest of the way home. He signed, brushing a few red strands of hair from his eyes. He noted the description of the Tsuchikage, in case he would ever need to find him again.

That old man was very strange he thought to himself, there was an unlikeable aura about him that made him dislike the old man very much. Even if he did kill him, he didn't think he could add him too his puppet collection. Just one thought of the Tsuchikage made him feel a shiver run through his spine. That night he returned back to base, to inform his leader-san, and work on his puppets.

***********

The next morning Deidara awoke from a nightmare. It was another recurring one of his father, the first time he touched Deidara. He had these often, and shivered a little as the memory lingered on a little. Noticing the time he gasped and jumped out of bed, grabbing his ninja kit and heading to the bathroom. After washing up, and combing his long silk hair back in its usual ponytail he headed towards the door. A sudden blow of pain erupted through his body, and his legs buckled, falling to the floor.

'What time do you call this?' his father smirked, cracking his knuckles. He had punched Deidara hard in the stomach. Deidara moaned on the floor, grasping his stomach in pain. Blood shot up his throat, threatening to escape his lips, but he swallowed it quickly.

His father just smirked, rolling his eyes at his weak son.

'Get out of my sight!' he snapped, roughly kicking Deidara out of his path with his foot, slamming the bathroom door. Deidara lay out the carpet a few minutes longer, trying to get his breath back. He finally sat up, clutching his chest and walked down the stairs. He didn't even brother saying goodbye to his mother, she wouldn't notice him anyway.

He walked to school slowly, still clutching his stomach in pain, not aware that someone was following him, licking their lips in delight.

***************

Deidara arrived at in class, thank full that his Sensei didn't give out to him for being a little late. The sensei knew Deidara had problems at home and felt pity towards him, but preferred not to get involved or even help him. He wanted nothing to do with his student. Deidara sat at the back as usual, and took out his books.

As the lecture went on about analyzing opponent's absolute defence, Deidara was in deep thought about the Tsuchikage last night. He had made Deidara so uncomfortable; however he was the only person in his village that didn't look at him with disgust or distain. Why was he so friendly to him? Deidara smiled, maybe the Tsuchikage did find his hands interesting, and liked him.

Just then a small folded piece of paper was thrown onto his desk. Deidara's eyes widened, but nobody seemed to have noticed. He quickly took the piece of paper under his desk and read it

Hey Deidara, would you like to go out with me sometime?;)

--- Miya

Deidara immediately blushed and looked in Miya's direction. She smiled and winked back. He quickly looked away embarrassed. He felt butterflies in his chest, taking away all of the pain he has received from the blow earlier. He quickly scribbled a quick reply saying how much he would love that and secretly gave it back to her. He didn't notice Miya turn to her friends and nod smiling.

***********

At lunch time Deidara sat on his own as usual, picking at his lunch, he felt excited. Had Miya actually asked him out? He was so happy he couldn't help but smile. As he eat his lunch, Large purple eye's stared at Deidara's slender frame, from a nearby bush.

He took in every detail of Deidara, his pale smooth creamy skin, his long luscious golden hair, his big beautiful glowing blue eyes. The man had to control every muscle in is body, to stop him from jumping on to the boy, and feeling his soft skin. How could his partner think so poorly of this child, he had ranted on that the kid was just a dumb blond, with a noisy loud Kekkei Genkai! It was his turn to watch the kid, and he enjoyed the view, he was like an angel in his eyes.

So what could he report back to the leader...that the child was cute, he laughed to himself. No he had to watch the child's movements, see how he was in class. But he was just eating lunch. Still he wasn't complaining. This solo mission was so much easier that the other mission's leader-san gave him. And of course he didn't have to be with that emotionless, cold bastard he called his partner. He hated Akatsuki.

The only thing that made him stay was that cute Uchiha kid. Oh how he loved that child. And judging by what he was looking at now, he would love staying in the Akatsuki longer just for this child to join! He licked his lips again, as Deidara smooth's a lock of honey hair behind his ear. He couldn't take much more of looking at this kid, he was too tempting.

Deidara has finished eating his lunch when the bell rang. The sun was blazing in the sky and his mood had lifted since being punched in the stomach and being late for class this morning. It made him feel happy that someone liked him, and she was repulsed by his hands. He had liked her since he was 6, and now turning 10 he still felt the same way. He grabbed his kunai and when to the main training field, his spirits high. The man left the bushes and headed back to base. He was suppose to stay to watch Deidara's skills, but he had no interest in that, so he would just make up some lies to his leader-san when he got back.

************

Deidara arrived home, panting from running all the way. He didn't want to be late again, or his father might punch him in the stomach again. He thought of the Tsuchikage and a felt a shiver run through his spine. With hesitation, Deidara opened the door and walked down to the hallway, to the kitchen.

He was surprised to see only his sister Aya there, setting the table. She looked up when he walked in, but didn't say anything to knowledge him. Deidara smiled, a little sadly. He wished they both got on better.

'How was class?' Deidara asked conversationally. Aya looked up and shrugged.

'Okay' she simply replied.

'Here I'll help you' Deidara went to take some of the plates of her, but her hands pulled back sharply.

'No don't touch them!!!' she snapped a little loudly. Deidara held back his hands slowly, looking a little hurt

'I-I'm s-sorry—'

'—No it okay, I just....' she looked at his hands, 'here you can stir the rice if you want' she said adding a forced smiled. Deidara nodded brightly and walked over to the stove.

'So where is Mother and...,' he swallowed a lump in his throat, '...f-father?' Aya set the plates down slowly, hesitating to answer.

'They should be back any minute; they had a meeting with the Tsuchikage!' Deidara looked curious.

'Really? I met him on my way home yesterday evening' Aya didn't look at him, she just continued to put the plates on the table. Deidara stirred the rice sadly. Why didn't his sister want to talk to him?

'The rice is almost done now' he said quietly. She lifted the pot wordlessly from him and drained it in the sink. Just then the door burst open and his father, mother and brother walked in. Deidara was shocked at the sudden arrival of his father and the plate he was holding smashed to the floor.

'YOU STUPID WORTHLESS SHIT,' he shouted, grabbing Deidara by his shirt 'CANT YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT??' Deidara instinctively raised his arms up to his face, thinking his father was gonna hit him, his brother struggled to hold in a laugh and Aya looked away, not wanting to see the cruel harsh treatment her father gave to her brother.

'Please Calm down' Deidara's mother said softy. Deidara looked at her in surprise; she had never stood up for him before. He loosened his grip on Deidara's shirt pushing his slightly.

'GET THIS MESS CLEANED UP' he snapped, turning away in disgust from his son. Deidara immediately grabbed a broom and on his hands and knees he swept up the broken plate before joining them at the dinner table.

Deidara kept his gloves on at the table; he wasn't allowed to take them off in sight of his father, unless of course it was to pleasure him, Deidara though darkly. They passed around the bowls of food, Deidara only took a small amount, he didn't feel hungry, and his stomach was still in pain from the blow he received from his father.

'how was your day at school dear?' his mother asked, but not to him...never to him. Both Aya and Kimina answered with their usual "yeah, was okay..." but Deidara had come to learn that any questions where never directed at him. He just ate silently when the rest of his family engaged in conversation. At least the let me sit at the table with them, Deidara though sadly to himself. This night seemed a little different, Deidara thought.

His mother looked at him now and again; her eyes looked drenched with guilt and pity, like she knew something, and his father, shot him a smirk now and again, as if laughing at some joke only he knew. The atmosphere was uneasy, and Deidara was so tempted to ask why they had been at the Tsuchikage palace today, but he knew if he did, he would probably get his teeth knocked out.

Deidara waited for the others to finish and leave the kitchen, as Deidara was always made to wash up the dishes after them. He stood at the sink an hour later that evening scraping the leftover rice of the last plate and soaking it in the wash. He felt a pain in his heart, hearing a very distant sound of the rest of his family in the living room, probably playing a game or watching television together. He had just spent the evening cleaning the entire kitchen as ordered, and was just finishing up now when he heard his mother walk in.

She stood solemnly at the door, her eyes downcast.

'Go to bed now...and be bathed and dressed after school tomorrow, we.....you are going to visit the Tsuchikage after school.' She said tonelessly, before closing the door. Deidara stared back at the door where she had just left. Why was he going to visit the Tsuchikage? He didn't know whether to be excited or nervous. The Tsuchikage did knowledge that he was doing well in class didn't he? Deidara quickly dried up, putting the last plate in the cupboard before switching of the lights and going upstairs to bed. He lay in thought for a long time before finally drifting off to sleep.

*************

'and how was his skills Orochimaru? Itachi and Kisame informed me that they are quite exceptional for his age, is this true?' Pain's eyes bored into Orochimaru, waiting for his answer.

'eh y-yeah, quite exceptional, and extraordinary, for a child so delicate and...' pain raised an eyebrow at this last comment and Orochimaru quickly rephrased his sentence 'er I mean a child so young and...er inexperienced.' Pain sat back on his chair observing Orochimaru, noticing him licking his lips when mentioning the child.

'I see, and tell me Orochimaru, how are you getting along with the rest of the members?' Orochimaru asked, surveying him with distaste.

'if you mean Sasori, I won't lie, our team work hasn't been that great, and I don't like him as a partner, perhaps...If I were to be partnered with....Itachi-san...for instance, and allow Kisame-san to deal with Sasori, as he is more temperamental—'

'—thank you Orochimaru, that will be all!' he said, getting the answer he wanted.

'Leader-san, I—'

'Could you please tell Hidan and Kakuzu I would like to speak to them next, it's their turn to check on Deidara!' Orochimaru knew the discussion was closed and bowed turning to the door. When he walked down to the living room he met Sasori. Sasori stared back coldly into Orochimaru making him feel uneasy.

'what do you want Puppet?' he sneered

'you where watching the child from Iwagakure today?' Sasori asked impassively.

'yeah, what of it?' Orochimaru shot back, his voice coated in slim.

'liked what you seen?' Sasori replied, his eyes flashing daggers to the Snake-man.

'so what if I did, what you gonna do about it?

'I could inform the leader or your intentions!' Sasori glared back dangerously.

'so go ahead, it's not like you can prove anything, not until I touch that sweet tender creamy skin and—'

' —shut up!!Your thoughts repulse me and make me sick!'

'oh since when did you start caring for anyone, are you telling me in that hollow chest of yours there's still a heart, that bleeds if I mention about touching some innocent child?' Orochimaru scoffed and laughed out loud, a sick sweetly, bitter laugh that made Sasori shiver.

'Stay away from that child,' Sasori turned to walk away, but turned his head around again 'and Itachi-san for that matter!'. Orochimaru was enraged! How dare he tell him what to do.

'JUST STAY OUT OF IT!! THIS CARING ATTIUDE DOSENT SUIT YOU!!!' he shouted after him.

Sasori ignored him and walked off to his room, to finish working on his new puppet. He hated that Snake so much. He didn't care for the well being of some stupid blond kid, but molesting children was just disgusting and he didn't want to be partnered with someone so repulsive. He was sure Itachi could look after himself, being a teenage, so it didn't worry him, but a child at only 10, ugh he shuttered.

He couldn't concentrate that night, and decided to go straight to bed. He had a mission with Orochimaru early the next day, and was dreading it. As he lay down he wondered when it would be his turn to watch the blond child again. All the other Akatsuki members so far seemed to taken a liken to the child but him. Was he really that hollow and empty inside? He rolled his eyes shutting out his thoughts and the lights.

***************

**Notes on Fanfic:**

_I named Deidara's sister __**Aya**__, because I thought it was simple to remember and his brother __**Kanima **__out of a different anime I watch. Hope these are okay._

_Also I change's from Deidara POV because I found it a little difficult to write with,you know changing from characters I got confused a lot, so hope you don't mind the sudden change._

********

Thanks for reading, I'm sorry this took a while, I know how it feels to wait aaaaggges on a fanfic your reading to update, its hard to get motivation sometimes because I have so much other work on, but I always like reviews because it helps me write and it's nice to know what you guys think.

But please when your reading this story, know that it **FAN FICTION!!!!!!** Meaning not real. I got some anonymous reviews saying things like the don't know it's purposely written as a **angst/love** story so obviously there's gonna be angst stuff like rape, and abuse and romance between characters even if it is Yaoi. I have read the Manga, and I'm sure everyone else is familiar with it so I don't need Anonymous reviews telling me and the readers what "didn't happen in the Manga". Apart from that criticize all you's want because any review helps me!!

Thanks again, I'll keep writing, see you in the next chapter!!

Ninjashallow


	3. Chapter 4 Skipping Lessons

Chapter 4 Skipping Lessons

Deidara awoke that morning with a mixture of excitement and apprehension, nobody had ever shown any interest in him before, so what did the Tsuchikage want with him? Maybe he really was recognising some talent Deidara had, and if he impressed him at the temple this evening, Deidara was sure that his father would be proud of him, after all, the Tsuchikage had never asked any other student to go to his temple, and he had told Deidara that he thought his mouth hands where interesting.

Deidara ran down the stairs, skipping the last few steps at the end, landing lightly on his feet. He hummed happily to himself as he walked towards the kitchen, and brightly greeted his mother, who smiled back weakly. Deidara stared at her for a moment and thought he saw what looked like guilt across her face. He shrugged it off and sat down to eat some cereal. Just then his brother and sister walked into the kitchen. Aya poured some orange juice silently, but Kanima started on his brother straight away.

'Hey freak, sleep well last night or did you stay up drawing pathetic drawings of birds in that sketch book of yours?' he taunted, grabbing the book out of Deidara's hand and flicking through it.

'give it back Kanima,' Deidara said calmly, holding his hand out. Kanima scoffed and throw the book back down on the table, knocking the jug of orange juice all over it.

'oh great look what you did now un' Deidara said, sliding the ruined book of the table, trying to clean up the mess. His mouth hands immediately started licking up the juice, just as, to Deidara's horror, his father walked in.

'WHAT THE FUCK HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT WEARING GLOVES AT THE TABLE?!?!' he shouted, grabbing Deidara by his shirt and raising his fist. Kanima laughed, and Aya looked helplessly at her mother.

'Dear, please calm down!' she cried, holding back his fist. Deidara winced, and immediately started apologizing. 'I'm s-sorry un, I...I d-didn't mean t-to un...un'

'Just SHUP UP!' he growled, loosening his grip, he put on his Jacket and stormed out the door. Aya looked troubled, Kanima looked disappointed he didn't see some action, and Deidara breathed a sign of relief. He looked towards his mother gratefully, she had never intervened like that before, and his father sounded very angry, he was sure he would have had a broken jaw if his father hit him.

'Thanks mother, for helpin—'

'—just be silent and tidy this mess up' she snapped throwing her apron on the table and storming out to the laundry room. Deidara nodded sadly and quickly did as he was told.

***********

Like everyday Deidara walked to school alone, he took a piece of clay from his pouch, and moulded it into the shape of a small pretty bird. The sun was shining high in the sky, and the walk to school was peaceful, so Deidara tried his best to forget the incident this morning, after all, he was going to see the Tsuchikage after school, so it would make his mother happier, maybe even proud. Deidara gazed at the bird perched on his palm, He didn't know how his father would feel, but he kept his hopes high.

Looking at the time he decided to walk a little faster, storing the bird back into his pockets, he thought with a little smile, of giving it to Miya, his crush. Until then he put his gloves back on and entered in through the school gates.

************

A couple of miles away, a man with sleek combed silver hair strolled into the Akatsuki base kitchen, accompanied by an older looking man, with a mask covering his mouth. One was humming brightly, as the other poured himself coffee, looking none too pleased.

'That's the last time you keep me up with your stupid Jashin rituals, Hidan!' the man shouted angrily, slamming himself down on a chair, beside a raven haired teen.

'aaww chill the fuck out Kakuzu, I won't get to slaughter for a few days, so I hada fucking pray, you know how it goes'

'That maybe, but I don't like getting lack of sleep before a mission' Kakuzu replied coldly.

Hidan scoffed 'hmpt, you pussy, it's not like our mission is serious anyway'

Itachi, who had been silent until this moment looked up from his cereal. 'What is you mission Hidan?' he asked quietly. Hidan grinned, pouring his own cup of coffee.

'It's our turn to check out this Iwa kid, Pain—'

'LEADER-SAMA TO YOU!!' Kakuzu interrupted angrily.

'fine..."leader-san" ' Hidan said rolling his eyes, 'wants us to report back with anything unusual,' he took a few gulps of coffee before continuing 'don't know why he wants both of us to go, but shit I ain't complaining, better that than the mission old Snaky and Carrot- top are on!'

Itachi shuttered inwardly at the mention of Orochimaru, while his partner Kisame, who just walked in, frowned. He hated any mention of that creepy fellow member, especially when he went anywhere near Itachi. The worry must have been evident on kisame's face, because Itachi looked towards his partner in a reassuring nod, motioning him to sit down next to him. 'so... it's your turn to watch the kid huh' Kisame said taking the other seat next to Itachi.

Kakuzu nodded, 'leader-san informed us that he's a 10 year old, surely he can't be thinking of making him a member at such a young age?'

Hidan scoffed 'Ha, who knows what that crazy bitch is thinking, sure didn't we get Itachi when he was just a cute little fourteen year old!!' Hidan smirked, pinching Itachi's cheek like a kid. Itachi blushed and flashed his Sharingan eye's threateningly.

'Whatever his age, don't under-estimate him, both I and Itachi were impressed, weren't we' Kisame said looking to Itachi, who nodded, his eyes still on Hidan, who ruffled his hair playfully. Itachi's glare faltered and a small smile appeared against his will.

'You hear that Hidan?' Kakuzu said seriously, 'and remember what Leader-san said, for us to keep our distance and just observe!'

'yeah, whatever...' Hidan said, draining his cup, and grabbing his Akatsuki cloak, his partner mimicking him.

'we better go now, see you tonight' Kakuzu said as he walked out the door, Itachi and Kisame weaving back.

'Later!' Hidan said lazily, weaving a hand behind him as he casually strolled out of the door in pursuit of his partner.

**************

Deidara sat in the back of the class as usual, staring out of the window at a passing bird soaring towards the sky. Deidara signed, wishing he could fly like that bird, he hated being cooped up in here, listening to this boring lecture on Taijutsu, he already perfected all the moves, while his class dragged behind learning these basic moves.

Deidara turned his attention to his Sensei and glared away again. Deidara knew if he were any other student, his sensei would be praising him for his skills; instead his sensei ignored him as though he were a brick wall.

Some of the other students shot Deidara nasty glares, whispering to each other and laughing, Deidara sadly turned his expression back outside the window, as the blazing sun shone through. It was only then that he saw a sudden flash of a black cloak in the nearby trees. It happened very fast, but there was no mistaking someone was there.

'DEIDARA?!' a shout suddenly called through the classroom, Deidara jumped and looked up towards his angry teacher, most of the class where staring at him. 'Are you listening? This is very serious!' Deidara nodded quickly, avoiding the smirks and laughing he received from his class-mates.

The Sensei continued. 'Now...as you already know, we gave you warning a couple of days ago about traces other villages have seen of the criminal organisation The Akatsuki. The most sightings seen so far have been in our own village Iwa. Now as to the reason they are here, we can only speculate, but we have just received word today from the village of hidden leaf that a Jinjuirkui has been kidnapped by two Akatsuki members, Orochimaru, and Sasori of the red sand,' at this the entire class gasped.

'Thee Sasori?!?' one student shouted, the sensei nodded, his expression turning more serious, as he observed the classes shocked faces. Deidara stared calmly up at his teacher, he, like everyone else had of course heard of these missing nin, especially Sasori of the red sand, whose spine chilling tale of single handling defeating nations all across the land, was told over and over again.

Every time he heard the tale, his blood would chill in a terrifying, fascinating sort of way. He didn't know so much about Orochimaru, only that he was somehow involved with snakes, but he did know that many of Shinobi from his village had gone to try and capture these members, and never came back.

Deidara was so lost in thought that he hadn't realised his sensei was talking again, he quickly focused his attention back to him, in case he got shouted at again.

'we have sent out re-enforcements, to aid the hidden village, and to capture these Akatsuki criminals. In the mean time, I would advise you all to take precaution, these are S-ranked criminals where dealing with, and until we know what their purpose is, or what they are looking for, any of you could be in danger.'

********

The bell rang for lunch, and Deidara collected his report card from his Sensei. He looked at it, and folded it back hastily into his pocket. As usual he got full marks in everything. He was a very skilled ninja, but he never got the least bit excited at getting the best grades, because he had learned the hard way that nothing he did made his father proud of him, so the report card meant nothing to Deidara. As Deidara walked out of the classroom, the Sensei stopped him.

'Deidara, can't I talk with you for a moment...'

'Yes Sensei?'

'Deidara, as usual I'm very pleased with your report card, you put the most effort into your studies and you skills are improving vastly everyday...'

'Thank you sir' Deidara said, not caring about the praise, he didn't need to impress his teacher, if only his father could see--

'--Deidara....I've been meaning to have a talk with you...er....well, I...I know how you may feel a little...different, from other people in this village that is,' Deidara frowned, and concealed his hands underneath his robe.

'...I also know that the village, sometimes...doesn't understand you..er...I mean your....talent,' Deidara got impatient, he wanted to talk to Miya before she joined her group, what was his teacher trying to say?

'Deidara...I think, with Talent and skill like you have, its important to understand your purpose as to why you are becoming a Ninja in this village, do you know what that is?' Deidara though for a moment.

'To protect the villagers and Iwa, right?' Deidara said. The Sensei seemed relieved to hear that.

'Yes Deidara, you must always show your loyalties to this village, and protect all the villagers, most especially the Tsuchikage!' Deidara rolled his eyes, he already knew all this.

'yeah okay, could I go now Sensei un?' the Sensei seemed to consider Deidara for a moment before nodding. Deidara ran out and caught up with Miya, who was standing by her locker looking annoyed. Deidara gathered up all his courage, and walked over towards her.

'Hey Miya, wanna have lunch together?' Deidara asked smiled. Miya turned around glaring at him.

'I just FAILED most of my classes on this report card, I don't feel like being seen with you now FREAK!!' she said angrily, slamming her locker and storming off.

Deidara looked sadly down at his feet, standing by her locker. He saw all her friends turn around at glare at him too, before going into the canteen. He stood alone in the corridor, he hesitated not really feeling like joining the rest if his class for lunch. Deidara picked up his ninja kit and walked out the school front door, hoping effortlessly onto the roof top, and out of sight. He didn't feel like going back to class, when it was such a sunny day.

*********

A sensei walked into the classroom, where Deidara's sensei still sat seeming distressed.

'what did you want with that little freak?' he said casually. Deidara's Sensei frowned, and leaned back on his chair.

'Will you keep it down!!!' he said nastily.

'why what's wrong? What was all that about?' Deidara's Sensei sighed, looking troubled.

'I'm just a little concerned, we gotta stop treating Deidara like that, especially in front of him!' the other Sensei looked puzzled.

'Why? What's the matter; he's just that little freaky mouthed kid—'

'—that's exactly what's gonna get us in trouble, the rest of the village doesn't understand that Deidara is getting the best grades in his year, he's top of his class by a mile, and if we keep treating him like this, one day he might snap and turn his back on us, and the village!'

'So? It would be good to get rid of that little monster—'

'—NO... don't you understand? With his skill, and the way we have treated him,who knows what he will be capable of doing, our village would be in great threat if he were to betray us after we treated him so cruelly!'

*********

'Can you see anything?' Hidan squinted impatiently, looking through the thick green vines and foliage in the bushes. They had reached the Stone village, and were hidden high up in the trees, overlooking the Ninja academy grounds. Some students, around the age of eleven, where throwing small blades at pined up boards, and Kakuzu, scanning the kids, didn't recognise any of these to be the blond kid there leader had described.

He balanced his weight carefully on the branch and, ignoring Hidan persistent whining, took out a crumples picture of the kid. His face was hard to see, as the photo was taken from a distance, but his mass of brightly blonde hair didn't match up to any of the kids below.

'He's not here Hidan, he must of skipped this class' Kakuzu said sighing, stretching up from his kneeling position, and cracking the bones in his back.

'ha ha, nice, the little kid's already a rebel, dissen class and all!' Hidan smirked.

'what do you mean?' Kakuzu asked blankly. Hidan looked up and snorted.

'oh come Kakuzu, don't tell me you didn't skip boring classes when you were a kid, huh?!' Kakuzu stared at him uncomprehendingly,

'No, I never did!' he replied bluntly.

'WHAT? You're kidding me! You mean to say you were one of those Narky, goody fucking two shoes, who sucked up to the Sensei??'

'No, I just attended lessons, and completed all my Ninjutsu!'

'pppfftt, well when I was at school, I always ditched those dull fucking lectures!!' Hidan grinned reminiscing.

'I don't doubt it!' Kakuzu replied coolly.

'Yeah and...huh, wait what the fuck do you mean by that, shithead?!?'

'Merely that it's quite evident you weren't present at your classes, that's the difference how far you skill is, compared to mine!!'

'oy, fuck you Kakuzu! My skill is just as good as yours, if not better!!' Hidan replied back angrily. Kakuzu stared sceptically at his partner, before turning away, ending the foolish argument, he was sure Hidan would start.

'Hey, Kakuzu!!! Are you fucking listening? Don't you turn away like you know your right!!Hey Kakuzu... KAKUZU!!!!'

Deidara took his time walking back home, enjoying the sunny weather, and cloudless skies. As he walked he moulded his clay into different birds he saw along the tree, this was starting to become a habit every time he walked back and forth to school and he though, with a smile that he was getting pretty good at capturing the likeness. It was only half 3, and school didn't finish till for, so Deidara sat down beside a tree under the shade, taking out a bigger lump of clay, and moulding it into a beautiful bird.

'aaagh, Kakuzu can we not find a more comfortable place to sit and watch, there's thorns sticking in my ass from sitting in this god dam bush!!' Hidan wined loudly. Kakuzu looked towards Hidan and frowned

'Would you stop moving around so much?! Your gonna draw the child's attention to us!'

'LIKE HELL!! The little baby is too busy playing with his clay to notice anything, don't know why we have to watch him now, he's not doing anything, can't we just go back early to the base?'

'Hidan, our objective is to watch over the child, and take note of his skill'

'But kakuuuuzaaaaaa, he's not doing anything!!! If we leave now, we will make it back in time for supper tonight, Pain won't know, he's not expecting us until morning!'

'Hidan, I won't tell you again, BE QUIET!' Hidan pouted and turned away, resisting the urge to argue more, but he knew Kakuzu was right, Itachi had said the kid had sharp hearing. He looked back at Kakuzu, taking in his eyes, that were fixed on Deidara.

They sat like this for the past 20 minutes, Hidan playing with pieces of grass, tearing in up in bordom, while Kakuzu's eyes were set on Deidara, never blinking, taking in everything the kid done. When Hidan got bored of shredding up leaves, he looked back up at Kakuzu, and a small smile appeared on his lips. He found it cute how Kakuzu took every mission so serious. Here he was with his clipboard, jotting down every little note he could write about Deidara, and he knew as soon as they got back to the base, he would type it all out, and present it neatly to their leader.

Sometimes he did feel kind of bad, Kakuzu always did all the observing in missions, while He just loved the killing part. He guessed it was the same with all the other partners in Akatsuki. He was quite certain that Itachi did all the careful study and

'wow, its....pretty hot today, ain't it Kakuzu?' Hidan purred moving a little closer to him. Kakuzu made some sort of a grunt, not taking his eyes of Deidara. Hidan's eye twitched in annoyance, but he relaxed and smiled, taking the first button of his cloak off seductively.

'soo hot, I need to cool off for a bit...' Kakuzu frowned and turned to hush Hidan, when his pale smooth skin from his chest caught his eye, and he swallowed, turning to stare fully at Hidan.

Hidan, knowing his plan succeed, smiled innocently and buttoned more of his cloak open, until the smooth velvet fell down his creamy white shoulder, exposing his chest for Kakuzu's hungry eyes to see.

Hidan turned his head to Kakuzu, with fake confusion on his face 'Kakuzu, what's the matter, I thought our number one objective is to watch Blondie, is something distracting you?' he smiled innocently.

'Hidan....you...you....always know...what buttons to push!' he said, trying but failing to tear his eyes away from his beautiful lover. Hidan's innocent eyes faltered in triumph for a quick second before he quickly gained his poise, and shrugged.

'I don't know what you mea_aaaahh_'

'SHUT UP, and kiss me!!!' Kakuzu said frustrated, stealing his lips in a passionate, ruff kiss.

********

When Deidara decided he did enough stalling, he stood up from the spongy grass, and walked back to the house. He had to bathe, and clean himself up for meeting the Tsuchikage. A mixture of excitement and nerves ran through his spine at the though. He had to make a good impression, he just had to.

When he finally reached home, he creped in the back door. His brother and sister weren't back from school yet, but he could smell his mother's cooking from the kitchen, and that's where he headed.

'hi mother, I'm home!' Deidara said brightly, pulling back some golden loose stands that fell over his blue eyes. His mother didn't turn around to greet him or make any indication that she had heard him. Deidara looked sadly towards the floor, before looking up and trying again.

'urm...mom...I'm... I'm h-home, from school'

'...........'

'Mom?' Deidara's heart twisted painfully. Was his own mother purposely ignoring him?

'kay...well I gonna...urm go up stairs and...get ready for...' he trailed off, noticing how his mother wasn't responding. Deidara turned away sadly, fighting the urge to go over and shake her, to get her to notice him, say something, anything.

Evey step he took up the stairs felt really heavy, as he walked along, he saw photographs of his family hung on the wall, all their happy face's smiling back at him, Deidara stopped and narrowed his eyes, scanning all the pictures, the more he looked, he realised that he wasn't in any of them, some had him even folded out of the picture.

How could he not of noticed this before?? He hesitated on going back down and asking his mother why he wasn't in any, but the truth struck him hard in the chest, and he carried on up the stairs, feeling a little sick.

********

'hmmm Kakuzu, you fuck pretty well for a 90 year old!'

'what did you say!?!'

'hey calm down, it's a complement, my ass is gonna hurt for the next week!'

'yeah, I forgot, you get off on Pain....'

'after we report back to leader-sama, I want fuck on our actually bed, god all these thorns and twigs sticking in my ass---'

'HIDAN!!!!' Kakuzu suddenly yelped, springing straight up in horror.

'Jeeze, WHAT IN JASHIN HAS GOT INTO YOU??!!' Hidan shouted alarmed.

'THE KID....WHERE IS HE?!?!' Hidan got to his feet quickly and scanned around the area, he couldn't see or sense his charka anywhere.

'How did we miss him go!' Kakuzu said angrily, getting dressed quickly.

'Jeeze, relax will ya! You fucking scared the shit outta—'

'will you get ready, we need to go after him and complete our mission NOW!!' Kakuzu replied angrily, throwing Hidan's cloak to him.

'ugh way to kill the mood Moran!' Hidan said begrudgingly, buttoning his coat up, and following his partner.

­*******

As Deidara got dried his hair from the shower, and combed it back neatly, he stared deep into the mirror. Bright blue eyes stared up, with a faint trace of bluish black around his eye, from his father. Why did his father hate him so much? He just couldn't understand it, he had never done anything to hurt anyone, and still he was treated like nothing.

Deidara looked away from the mirror in self loathing, and came down stairs putting on one of his bright smiles, that hide his pain so well. He put extra effort in this evening for looking his best for the Tsuchikage, his was his moment to impress him. His mother was waiting at the end of the stairs for him, looking sullen. When he approached her, she raised an thin eyebrow.

'how do I look mother?' Deidara smiled. She took one look at him and turned away reaching for her coat. Deidara felt cress fallen, he picked out his best blue kimono, and his hair was pinned up, glowing beautifully.

'Come on Deidara...we er...don't wana be late' she said not looking at her son. Deidara nodded and followed her outside, to walk into the village. They walked in silence, Deidara trying to think of something good to say to get her attention, while she walked on fast, her head high up in the air. Deidara couldn't help but notice that as the passed through the village, his mother seemed to distance herself from him and walk a lot faster, almost as if she was embarrassed to be seen walking with him.

Deidara tried to walk faster to catch up, oblivious to the hostile stares he was getting from the fellow villages. As he caught up to his mother, he made a daring move and reached out to hold her hand. As soon as his palm touched her skin, she spun around like lighting and struck her son hard on the face, the force of it making him stumble back and his face spin around to his shoulder. She gasped and held her hand to her mouth in surprise. Deidara slowly looked back at his mother, a trickle of blood escaping his split lip. She stared back at him, and guilt etched through her face at the sight of him, his eyes were shocked, and deeply hurt looking. His mother had never hit him before.

'Put you gloves on this instant!' she snapped, her voice cracking slightly. Deidara nodded quickly and hastily took out his gloves, and covering his mouth hands shamefully. He felt his heart ache, and took everything to stop tears spilling from his blue eyes. His mother had actually hit him. She had hit him for wanting to hold her hand.

His mother took one last hesitant look at him, before turning back to walking, Deidara followed meekly behind her in silence. From that moment on he vowed never to touch anybody with his disgusting hands again.

*********

Hidan and Kakuzu leaped through rooftops undetected, searching for the blond child. They knew they were coming close as, with their skill, they could sense his unique charka. They stopped to catch their breath on the roof of a Dango stall, and a conversation drifted up from below them.

'See that mouth hand monster walking with his mother, looks like there heading in the direction of the Tsuchikage temple!'

'hmpt, I think it's a disgrace, how that freak is allowed to walk around this village at his own will,'

'I know, my son is in the same class as him, I think it's an outrage they would allow that thing to even study in the same class as the children in this village.'

'And to think, that poor family who have to put up with him, his father is such a nice respectful man!'

'oh yes he works with my husband, such a lovely man, and their son, Kanima is a lovely handsome boy, such a shame they had that freak humiliate and mock everything that nice family has worked for!'

Hidan scoffed loudly, earning him a swift elbow in the ribs by Kakuzu, who listened closely to their conversation.

'what on earth do you think the Tsuchikage wants with that abomination!??'

'who knows, disgusting creature, he should be banished from this village, and to think, he's still actually training in the ninja academy!'

'The teacher says he top of his class, but one thing's for sure, I will refuse to ever be protected by him!'

'Yeah, and I will refuse to have my son on any missions with him!!' another shouted angrily.

Hidan stood up, 'Come on Kakuzu, I've heard enough of these old hags blabbering, it's reminding me of my old stupid village!!' Hidan said angrily.

'Okay okay, just keep it down or we will be seen, now let's go!' Hidan jumped forward in a foul mood, and Kakuzu sighed inwardly to himself. He knew how much Hidan detested his former village, for their ridicule and all, but it was never as bad as this. Kakuzu couldn't help feeling bad for a kid he didn't even meet yet, and though the sooner Deidara leaves here, the better, if that's the way his village treated him.

*************************

_(Just for you to remember: __**Miya**__ is a girl in Deidara's class who he has a crush on.) _

_So I have part 2 of this written up, but it was sooo long I chopped it in half to give you a break; the next chapter will be pretty intense. Sorry for the long wait, I've been having trouble getting the time to do this, but I will keep writing it so long as everyone likes it, and reviews so I know it's being read. Thanks for all the last reviews, it helps so much. Ooh also have you seen the new Shipp Episodes??? Sooooo GOOD!!^^ especially the Deidara/Sasuke one!! Love the animation as well!! Anyway see you in the next chapter!_

_NinjaShallow_


	4. Chapter 5 The Tsuchikage

Chapter 5 The Tsuchikage

Sasori walked into his room, just fresh home from a successful mission, well he and Orochimaru where spotted by some villagers, who dispatched enforcements straight away, Sasori was more that able to handle them, but he was such now that the news of their sighting would spread like wildfire through all the villages. He felt angry at himself, Pain had told him not to worry, but he couldn't help but be pissed off at Orochimaru, there weren't good as partners and he couldn't see why their leader still had them work together. The door burst open, and said partner walked in, Sasori turned away, not acknowledging his presence, and sat down on his work bench. He heard Orochimaru's footsteps walk up behind him.

'Ssasori, Ssssasori, tut tut, don't tell me your gonna start working on those horrible puppets at this time of the night!' he said, his voice slimy and slithery, sending revolting shiver down Sasori's back.

'It is my own time, so I will do as I wish!' Sasori replied sternly, not turning around.

'oh Sssssasori, come on, you must be tired after that mission' he said, shaking his arms around Sasori's neck, massaging his strained shoulders.

'Don't touch me!' Sasori said disgusted, violently shrugging his slimy arm off. Orochimaru smiled, and sat down on the bed instead, gazing at his partners back.

'You're so tense, it can't be good for your health.'

'I don't like being touched; you should know that by now'

'You don't seem to mind when Itachi or one of the other boys touch you' Orochimaru said in a mocking manner. Sasori took a moment to reply.

'and what do you mean by that statement?' he replied coldly.

'oh only that you seem to be more comfortable being around the other members than me...your own partner!!'

Sasori rolled his eyes, turning back round to his puppets.

'I make allowances for a few in this world that I am able to deem their company tolerable , the other's are my partners, and in time have become somewhat of a friend, you however are loathsome, and I have no interest in your company!!' Sasori said angrily.

'What's this?? You actually admit to have a friendship with the others?? Wow Sssasori, I didn't think you had it in you to be capable of that emotion!' Sasori didn't reply, but Orochimaru had the feeling that if he could blush, he would be blushing right now.

'Still I can't blame you for not minding Itachi's company, he is beautiful, isn't he?' again Sasori sat quietly, as if he didn't hear a word the snake was saying. Orochimaru's eyes travelled up Sasori's back, to his creamy white neck, and his crimson dark hair in untidy soft ruffles.

'.....of course, your beautiful yourself, Sssssssasori' he hissed, the Sss rolling of his tongue nauseatingly, licking his lips.

'GET THE FUCK OUT OF THIS ROOM!!!' Sasori shouted throwing the closest object he could find, which was a thick blade, in his direction. Orochimaru narrowly slithered out of the way, laughing nastily, with a wicked, vile grin, before reaching the door.

'A little feisty are we huh!! Okay, I'll leave you alone, maybe Itachi is around the base somewhere!' he said smirking before slamming the door shut.

Sasori looked angrily towards the door, his breath coming out in sharp rasps. He never lost his cool like that with the other members, but Orochimaru had taken things too far, and he hated him. He turned angrily back to his work desk, where his wooden puppet sat looking up at him. Why was he so touchy about other people's company.

When he first became a member of the Akatsuki, he was distant and cold-hearted to the other members, and begrudgingly showed them any respect. And when Orochimaru joined not long after him, he was angry at the idea of having a partner.

Kakuzu was one he could converse with, until he was assigned with a new partner named Hidan, who although he tried to kill the young silver haired man all the time, Sasori saw a romance blossom out of them, and it made him uneasy.

So he turned his attention to Kisame, who for a man who was hot tempered and easily rattled in battle, he still grew some sort of respect for him as a former member. But he too caught distracted when a young member named Itachi was assigned his partner, and he had never seen Kisame happier.

Throughout the years of being with them, and against his will, he started to grow a friendship with them, even caring for them, and their safety when out on missions, which for "Sasori of the red sand" that was very un-characteristic of him.

He didn't know how it happened, maybe it was that he never had a family, he had no liking for his village, and didn't care for any living soul that dwelled there, not even his Grandmother. But the Akatsuki members had somehow managed to open what was left of his heart, not that he believed there was any left. But no matter what Orochimaru did, he could never develop a liking of him. He grew to detest him more and more with each passing day.

He couldn't help but feel a little bitter, that he was partnered with such a loathsome creature as Orochimaru, while all the other where partnered with ones that, not only did they work well together, they also became romantically involved. Konan often joked to Sasori saying it was about time that he found someone, and he always scoffed it off.

But could he even have the emotion to be involved with someone romantically? No way, as much as Sasori hated to admit it, making his body into a living puppet, took all his human emotions with him, he could never care for someone, the way the rest do.

He sighed inwardly to himself, rubbing his temples, as he could feel the strain of a head ache coming on. There was no point even thinking about it, he couldn't care less. It was getting late, Hidan and Kakuzu would be back soon from their mission, he wondered what they would have to say to Pain tomorrow. He slowly got up from his desk, feeling too distracted to work on his puppets, and climbed into his bed, cringing at the thought of having to share it with Orochimaru.

**********

Deidara's eyes where cast to the ground as he walked behind his mother. He wiped the trickle of blood away from his mouth with his hand, his heart feeling really heavy. He didn't understand why his mother didn't want to touch him, or be close to him. And she had hit him, it was pretty hard, but didn't really hurt, not even close to a fraction of how painful his father's blows was, but it hurt more for the reason why she hit him.

It was all because he wanted to hold her hand. Deidara looked down at his hands, which were now covered by gloves. Were his hands really that disgusting? Will anyone ever understand them? Deidara almost walked straight into his mother while thinking these thoughts. She had stopped abruptly in front of the temple and turned around to Deidara.

'You be on your best behaviour, don't shame me, and keep them hands out of sight!' she said sternly, although her voice quivered as if she was guilt-ridden over something.

Deidara nodded obediently, not chancing to speak, in case it would make her angry again. Then he followed his mother up the long, marble stone steps, to the Tsuchikage. As he passed the stone temple walls, he saw posters with huge warnings on them and although the pictures were blurred, Deidara couldn't mistake the black cloaks with red clouds on them. They were warnings of the criminal organisation Akatsuki.

When they reached the top of the stone temple, guards lead them up to his chair, where behind a Vail of rich red curtains, and multi coloured cushions, sat the Tsuchikage, smiling down at them.

Deidara bowed as soon as he saw his mother do so, and heard the soft footsteps of the Tsuchikage walk up towards them.

'ah yes, young Deidara, I have been looking forward to our little visit, thank you for bringing him to me' the Tsuchikage smiled, addressing Deidara's mother, but not taking his eyes of Deidara.

'I'm happy to serve you my lord' she replied meekly, her head still bowed.

'ah yes, and is Deidara happy to ah.....serve me?' he questioned. Deidara looked towards his mother, who gave him a sort of warning, remorseful look, before averting her eyes away.

'Uh....y-yes...my l-lord un' Deidara replied timidly, combing his honey blonde hair back nervously. His mother frowned at Deidara's speech habitat. But the Tsuchikage seemed pleased, and he steeped closely over to Deidara until he was looking straight down at him. Deidara quivered a little, feeling not as excited as he was, and nervously fidgeting with the tails of his blue robe.

The Tsuchikage licked his lips, taking in Deidara's soft golden lush hair, and light blue glowing kimono. Deidara was still kneeling on the ground, wandering how long he had to bow for. He suddenly felt the old man's long bony fingers caress s his skin, and gently cup his chin up to meet lustful beady eyes of the Tsuchikage.

'What a curious little speech problem you have....'

'My lord, I apologise, he doesn't......'

'Silence!' he snapped at her and then turned his head back to Deidara 'I find it rather....cute!'

Deidara was getting uneasy by the second, he just wanted to go home, couldn't the just get straight to the point. The Tsuchikage must have been thinking the same thing as he became bored and turned to Deidara's mother

'You may leave now...' he said simply to her. She frowned and stood up, her eyes cast downwards. Deidara saw his mother's actions, and made to get up to follow her but the Tsuchikage put a hand on his slender arms.

'you are staying here child' he said lustfully. Deidara looked at his mother confused.

'eh...but what about mother un?'

'Deidara, lord Tsuchikage will see you get back later tonight...' his mother replied tonelessly, not looking at her son.

'yeah b-but...' the Tsuchikage stoked Deidara's pale smooth skin, staring lustfully at his striking cerulean blue eyes.

'hush child, you can take of your gloves, you have no need for them now...' he smiled repulsively. Deidara's mother brought a hand up to her mouth, as her eyes shone with guilt. Deidara looked helplessly at his mother, who did not return his stare. She turned her face away, not bearing to look at Deidara's confused eyes.

'Mother!' Deidara said softly, confusion, and anxiousness swelling up inside of him. His mother ran on down the steps, until she was out of sight. Deidara turned back to face the Tsuchikage, and noticed the guards were closing up the curtains that hung suspended over the cushioned spreading on the floor, and a shiver ran down his spine.

They were now alone in the room, colourful purple, rose and gold curtain's were draped over the walls, and cushions where spread out over the floor. Deidara nervously fidgeted with the ends of his blue robes. Deep perfumed scented oil was light, and the fumes where making him uneasy and very hot.

'Deidara...take off you gloves' the Tsuchikage repeated. Deidara looked down at his hands and then meekly back up at the Tsuchikage.

'urm...my f-father told me n-not to un' he stuttered, a little above a whisper. The Tsuchikage smirked.

'will I'm telling you to take them off, your father knows the use I want with your hands, so you won't get in trouble with him, if that's what your worried about' he said simply, never taking his eyes from Deidara's body. Deidara felt like he swallowed a water melon, but if his father said it was okay, then he guessed it was alright.

He swallowed the lump in his throat, and hastily pulled them off, the Tsuchikage tapping his foot impatiently, until two tongues rolled out, happy for the fresh air. The Tsuchikage's eyes light up as he saw them, and his hands jerked down to his own cream robes, where a hot sticky bulge seemed to be appearing out of them.

'Good boy, now...get on your knees' he said hungrily. Deidara's head shot up in alarm, confusion incised through his pale blue eyes.

'w-what?' Deidara stuttered. The Tsuchikage smiled, and stroked his pale cheek with his long slender fingers again.

'I want to you get down on your knees, I'm sure this isn't your first time, you know what to do right?' he smiled, feeling Deidara's soft skin. Deidara felt sick in his stomach, a kind of sick jolt, like one you get when missing a step on the stairs. This couldn't be real....did he hear him right? When the Tsuchikage saw that Deidara had not shifted, he smiled

'Here, there's lots of soft pillows, if that will make you more comfortable, just kneel down'

'..........' Deidara didn't know what was happening, the scented smoke in the room was drifting in his lungs, making the room hot and uncomfortable, he felt butterflies in his stomach, and his heart was vibrating.

'come on child, didn't you say you would serve me, remember...back when your mother was there, you said you would serve me in anyway,' he said sickly, the bulge beneath his robes throbbing, he was losing patience with this stupid little child.

'....yeah..b-but...but...I....' Deidara trailed off, he didn't know what to say, the Tsuchikage couldn't be serious, had he misread him. The perfumed sent was burning stronger, the purple and red drapes where making him feel kind of sick.

The Tsuchikage sighed in frustration, rubbing his temples. He had a strong urge to throw the boy to the floor and pound into him roughly,

'Listen boy, I am lord Tsuchikage, and I've given you an order, now get down on your knees!' he said sharply, his throbbing erection needing release.

'p-please....d-don't...don't do...' Deidara's voice faded, his voice turning raspy, his heart clenching up with fear and pain. Not this, please not this, he couldn't take it, why is this happing again to him. Where was his mother? Deidara kept pleading softy, tears leaking helplessly from his shinning confused eyes. He felt so sick, he didn't wana be here anymore.

The Tsuchikage closed his eyes in annoyance, and rubbed his temples, getting pissed off from the boy's tremblening.

'I won't ask you again Deidara, get on your knees!' Deidara pleaded silently, still mumbling, wet tears shining in his eyes.

'JUST GET ON YOUR FUCKING KNEES' he snapped and in a flash he struck Deidara, who fell to his knees in horror, ending his mumbling. The Tsuchikage quickly opened his long flowing robes, and patted Deidara's long blond hair, running his fingers through it, soothing him.

'hush, hush child, now just touch me here, with those mouth hands you have' he said tenderly, stroking his hair. Deidara sniffed, wet tears dripping from his eyes. He stomach in a knot, he didn't even notice the sharp sting from the hit he just revived.

He looked up a little, and with shaky hands, moved towards the Tsuchikage's crotch, he hesitated a bit, and the Tsuchikage directed his hands for him, touching them against this open errection now, and gasping at the contact. The mouths seemed to protest as the struggled to open, the Tsuchikage got a little impatient and told Deidara to open them, which he did, closing his eyes in shame, as the mouth licked the long member, before taking it fully in their mouths.

The Tsuchikage moaned in satisfaction, running his long fingers through Deidara, soft blond locks. Deidara whimpered every now and again, feeling the horrible sensation pump in and out of his hands, his poor mouths choking and sucking on the wet member. Now and then the Tsuchikage would say soothing things, and pet his hair, encouraging him to take it further.

'ah...that...ah...yes thats...s-sooo g-good---aahhh, yeah, ohh' he moaned in pleasure, gripping the blond hair tightly, while he licked and sucked him.

'ahh, you...ah...m-must...do..t-this...a..lot..for..ah...y-your...father_ahhh_' he panted coming very close. Deidara's mouths sucked harder, he knew from experience that this helped them be satisfied faster, and he wanted it to end as soon as possible. The Tsuchikage stared squirming, his eyes closed in bliss, before suddenly ripping the mouths of him and grabbing Deidara's face, before Deidara could even react, his face was pushed down on his dick, and it was thrust harshly into his mouth, making him gag.

'sussh, t-that's right, ahhhh' he moaned, his body squirming in pleasure, gripping Deidara's soft locks, almost pulling them out of their roots. Deidara sucked hard, his stomach twisting painfully, he felt sick and ashamed.

The Tsuchikage mumbled something that sounded like 'holy shit' before throwing his head back in ecstasy, as Deidara felt white hot thick liquid run down his throat, the taste was horrible. The Tsuchikage pulled out of his mouth, and cupped Deidara's mouth until he swallowed everything. Deidara took a huge gulp and almost got sick on the taste.

'There, there, good boy, that felt great, your father was right about you!' he smiled happily, removing his clothes, showing his old, skinny pasty body. Deidara was breathing hard and looked up to the Tsuchikage, what was he doing, taking off his clothes. The Tsuchikage leaned forward so his breath was on Deidara's neck, and starting untying the dark blue ribbon that held his kimono together. Deidara looked at him alarmed.

'hmmm what a pretty robe you have child, it brings out your beautiful eyes' he said sickly, slowly removing the robe, so Deidara sat in front of him naked. The Tsuchikage breath caught in his throat at the sight, and he immediately started to touch and caress his small slender body, oblivious to Deidara's utter horror.

He slowly started to lay Deidara down on the cushions, and kissed his neck, feeling and touching Deidara's body greedily. Deidara pushed slightly, trying to get up, the scented perfume drifting around the room was making him sick and hazily, and to his alarm he felt a sharp thing sticking into his thigh, realising it was the Tsuchikage's errection again, he squirmed, trying to get away.

'hush, huussssh child, this will all be over soon' the old man said, grasping Deidara small member and pumping it. Deidara bit in lip and cried out, tears leaking from his eyes.

's-stop un' he cried struggling.

'oh that's so adorable, hmmmm' he said, ignoring Deidara's pleas. As he got hotter, he suddenly flipped Deidara over so he was lying on his stomach, and positioned a soft purple cushion under him, so he was levelled right. Deidara trembled in fear, his breaths coming in sharp rasps as he tried to look over his shoulder.

'this....might hurt a little bit child,' the Tsuchikage whispered half sympathetically, more lustfully. 'but I will go as gentle as I can.' And without hesitation, or preparation he thrusted into Deidara, who screamed out excruciatingly, thrashing around, as it broke through his entrance, shredding and tearing him apart raw.

Deidara tried moving, changing position, but nothing took the pain away. The Tsuchikage was breathing hard, pulling back, just to push further and deeper into Deidara. Moans and gasps escaped his lips as he held on tight to Deidara's thighs, Deidara gripped a pillow in agony, screwing his eyes shut. He felt like his ribcage was dislocating with every thrust. His back hurt, and evey muscle was tense and sore.

His walls ripped and teared, making blood quickly spill out and run smoothly down his thighs, allowing the Tsuchikage's hot member flow in and out in fluid, fast motions. Deidara bit his lip tightly and cried out painfully as he felt a powerful thrust.

His nails dug hard into the pillow, ripping it. The Tsuchikage was moving in and out of Deidara easily now, his bony thighs slamming against Deidara painfully as he pushed fully in. Deidara felt like his back was breaking, he bit down harder on his lip letting out an excruciating cry, the smell of metallic blood mingled in with the perfumed scented smoke.

Finally the Tsuchikage gave one last deep thrust into Deidara's body, throwing his head back in satisfaction, as the truly explosive orgasiam erupted through him, filling Deidara with his white sticky cum. Deidara shuttered from the feeling, and collapsed to the floor in tears, crying his heart out. He couldn't even move, it was so painful. The Tsuchikage breathed heavily, before pulling himself roughly out of Deidara's entrance with a satisfied moan.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead before looking over to Deidara on the floor. The child was shaking violently, crumpled up in a heap. His blond hair was messy and tangled, and blood was seeping out of him, running smoothly down his legs. The Tsuchikage looked down at his own dick, noticing to his surprise it too was covered in blood. He didn't think he went that hard on the child...oh well. He got up and walked over to Deidara, picking up his blue kimono that was carelessly thrown aside in the heat of the moment.

He reached down and cleaned the blood of his penis with Deidara's kimono. Deidara lay sobbing on the floor, his face covered by his blond mass of hair.

'come child, lets get you ready.' The Tsuchikage said softly. Deidara made no attempt to move, so the Tsuchikage walked over to him and slid his arms under Deidara lifting him up in an awkward movement. He was incredibly light. Deidara let out a moan of pain, as his sore body was moved. The Tsuchikage tried to have him stand, but Deidara was wobbly on his feet as he leaned against the Tsuchikage. His whole body in agony.

The Tsuchikage sighed in frustration.

'Come on, I'm busy, I don't have time for this' he said irritated, giving another go at lifting him up, but Deidara hung weakly, his muscles too sore to even stand. He had never felt pain like this before. The Tsuchikage gave up, letting Deidara fall to his knees in a fetal position on the floor.

'Alright...You can lie there for another while, then I'll get the guards to take you back to you house,' he kneeled down to Deidara, and stroked some stray blond strands out of his face, before smoothly kissing it. 'You were wonderful, I'll look forward to seeing you again Deidara!' he whispered before standing up and leaving through the heavy curtains.

Deidara curled up in a ball and sobbed, his entire body aching. He didn't know how long he lay there until he felt somebody roughly grab him, and dress him. Deidara didn't have to do any walking, as the trailed him down the stone steps of the temple. He knew before he even saw the sky, that it was well past midnight, as the air was freezing. He was led into a small carriage and the ride home was silent, as he curled up in pain, his eyes looking out the window into the starry night.

_**************_

_Aww poor Deidara, ... that was really hard to write, I really made him suffer, but it well be even better when he has his sweet revenge!! God when I was writing that chapter, it's so hard to think of what happened to him. See the new episode?? Pain is awesome!!_

_Anyway I hope you liked it, and please review if you feel you liked the chapter, It does motivate me to write faster, knowing people are liking and reading this story! See ya'll in the next chapter!_

_Ninjashallow _


	5. Chapter 6 The Morning after

Chapter 6 The morning after

Orochimaru slithered around the dark hallways of the Akatsuki base, looking for a particular Raven haired Teenagers room. When he found the door he licked his lips and knocked gently. After a moment he heard a soft tired voice come from behind the door;

'Kisame?' Orochimaru sniggered masking his charka carefully; the Uchiha was unusually gifted with sensing a stranger's charka a mile away with ease, so he was certain the teen knew his personal aura of charka by now, and was quite sure he wouldn't open the door to it. He heard Itachi get out from beneath the covers and take a few small steps to the door.

The teen paused at the door, he was hopeful it was Kisame, who had left on a mission alone early this morning but he usually could sense his easily since he had so much of it. But he wasn't expecting Kisame home this late at night; it must have been 3 in the morning.

Itachi breathed in the air again, his senses were lethal and he could make out a slight tint of dank and almost moist aura coming from behind the door. This was definitely not kisame's safe and relaxing charka he was so attracted to, so he discreetly took out a kunai and reached for the door.

Orochimaru grinned nastily and pushed the door forward violently, smashing it off Itachi's head surprising him and making him crash to the floor in shock. Orochimaru slammed the door shut and locked it before turning to Itachi on the ground.

Itachi, ignoring the pain in his head jumped up, his eyes flashing with blood red Sharingan, but Orochimaru was ready for this move; he pulled out a long blue scarf like material and dived at Itachi, crushing him to the floor again.

'Tut tut tut, we can't have any of that Itachi-chan' Orochimaru said sickly tying the long shard of garment around his eyes, concealing his sight, and Sharingan from Orochimaru. Itachi trashed around, but Orochimaru plummeted his fist into Itachi's stomach, making him gasp in pain and double over on his chest. Orochimaru took this opportunity to pull Itachi up from the floor and crash him on the bed, unzipping his own pants hastily.

As he reached for Itachi's band of his pants Itachi quickly recovered and crashed his fist into a powerful punch to Orochimaru face, sending him flying off the bed to the floor.

'You fucking *$#' Orochimaru cursed, scrambling back up, wiping the blood from his mouth. He knew Itachi would be hard to get, and had tried to come prepared. He dove again at Itachi on the bed, before he managed to get the material of his eyes, and crashed him to the bed again, making his head bang off the head board with a sickening crack.

'Come now Itachi-chan, let's not make this difficult for both of us!' Orochimaru said sweetly, wrapping his snake like arms around Itachi neck and sliding his tongue lustfully into Itachi's ear. Itachi trashed and squirmed on the bed, shivering as he felt the contact of Orochimaru's tongue.

'What do you want?' Itachi cried softly, showing the first signs of emotion since he joined the Akatsuki. Orochimaru sniggered and shot his slimy hand up Itachi's vest feeling his smooth creamy white skin.

'you know what I've wanted since the moment I first set eyes on you Itachi-chan, now lye back and relax, you might enjoy this'

'Noooo!' Itachi shouted darkly, squirming more than ever under Orochimaru's pasty slimy body, 'NO YOU CANT!!'

'ha ha why can't I? Don't worry, it won't hurt, I'm sure Kisame has fucked you enough times, if his monster sized cock can fit inside you, then you must be fit to take mine without any pain!'

'Don't touch me!!!' Itachi shouted, struggling under Orochimaru body, he tried activating his Mangekyo sharigan but it was no use, he couldn't see what was happening with the blindfold, but he could feel Orochimaru pressed up on top of him, and panic over took him now, he had never felt so helpless and weak in his entire life.

'Soosh Itachi-chan, you don't know how much I have craved you, your sexy body...' Orochimaru rubbed Itachi's pink nipple and earned a panicked whimper to his ears, 'I just have to have you Itachi, you skin, your eyes, you body, everything, you're so beautiful, so perfect, so quite and reserved in everything you do, it's been torture seeing you with that horrible blue monster, your much too beautiful for that stupid Oaf!'

'Don't fucking call him that!!!' Itachi shouted struggling violently under his touch. Orochimaru was surprised by the amount of emotion the Uchiha was showing, but never the less grinned

'aww how cute, are you in love with fish boy? Are you, the almighty "Prodigy" from Konoha, the uke when fucking? huh??' Orochimaru jeered.

'Get off me!' Itachi shouted, his blood level rising to danger level. Orochimaru took a long wet lick of his face, savouring the taste. Itachi viciously pushed Orochimaru of him, reaching to pull down his top, but Orochimaru dove again, the thundering sound of a door crashing and shattering to the floor was all he heard before he was ruby tackled to the floor by a large blued skinned figure.

'I'LL FUCKING RIP YOU TO SHREDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' Kisame bellowed, his large fists slicing into Orochimaru's slimy skin, making blood ooze out. Suddenly he was pulled off and pined to the ground by Pain and Kakuzu.

'KISAME!!! Calm down!!' Pain ordered, gripping him tightly and holding him down. Kisame struggled furiously, his jaws snapping with rage as he leered at Orochimaru who was gasping and chocking for rage. Itachi sat curled up on the bed, his blindfold finally off, his sharigan blazing bright blood red at the incident, his delicate body quivering for the first time ever.

'What the hells happening?' Sasori said suddenly appearing at the door looking confused after waking up from the sudden crashing and shouting.

'THAT FUCKING DISGUSTING SLIMY SNAKE HAD HIS HANDS ON ITACHI!!!!!!!!' Kisame shouted with rage, still trashing on the floor.

Everyone looked from Kisame to Itachi, who was curled up on the bed, trying every hard not to display any emotions. His heart was pounding and he felt embarrassed and weak for allowing this to happen.

Sasori glared at Orochimaru with disgust, Hidan and Kakuzu looked shocked and confused, but Pain didn't look surprised as he looked back to Orochimaru panting on the floor.

'Orochimaru is this true?' Pain asked coldly. Orochimaru grinned and licked his lips in lust.

'Well he is rather irresistible, can you blame me?'

'YOU FUCKING ~*&%$' Kisame lunged at Orochimaru again, his razor sharp teeth snapping furiously. Hidan and Kakuzu used all their strength to pull him back.

'Get out and never return' Pain said bluntly, turning away feeling sick at the thought. Itachi had his eyes hidden under is black raven hair, feeling pathetic and weak in front of his fellow members. Orochimaru sat up and took one last look at Itachi's creamy white skin before heading towards the door. Everyone was silent as he walked past, being too shocked to say anything.

Orochimaru grinned as he pasted Sasori, brushing up against his skin; Sasori gave him a death glare, looking in disgust at his now ex partner. As he walked into the hallway Sasori spoke so the others couldn't hear.

'You disgust me, I told you to stay away from Itachi'

'hmpt, why do you care Sssasori?' Orochimaru asked bitterly, looking Sasori up and down.

'I…Itachi is my—'

'—Friend?? Hahaha don't make me laugh, since when have you started to care for others?'

'…….'

'Yeah thought so, all the company you like to keep is with those horrible puppets! You wouldn't understand the desire I feel for Itachi-chan, they desire I have for your body too Sssasori!' Orochimaru grinned staring lustfully at Sasori's creamy white skin and dark ruby hair. Sasori looked disgusted and turned away.

'You haven't heard the last of me Sasori-san!' Orochimaru called out before turning and leaving the Akatsuki hidden layer.

Sasori walked back into the room and saw Kisame sitting on the bed with Itachi. He didn't know what to feel as he looked at Itachi, he looked over to Hidan who looked back and shrugged. Pain looked over at Itachi, he felt this was his fault, he had a feeling Orochimaru was interested in Itachi and he did nothing about it.

He placed his hand briefly on Itachi's shoulder in comfort before leaving the room. He knew Itachi wouldn't want too much attention, and as leader he felt like he had to act professional.

Sasori remained silent as he didn't know what to say, Hidan however looked unsurely to Kakuzu before addressing Itachi.

'Itachi…are you okay—'

'— I'm fine!!' Itachi said coldly not looking at them. Kisame having calmed down, reached out to touch Itachi's shoulder, but he shrugged it off harshly.

'Stop making such a commotion, I am well capable of taking care of myself!' Itachi said strictly, although his voice broke at the end.

Kisame looked heart broken; he knew Itachi was sensitive when it came to strength, as he never wanted to be seen as weak, being the youngest of the group.

'Hidan…come on, lets go back to bed, I think Itachi needs some privacy!' Kakuzu said taking Hidan's hand and urging him out. Hidan looked worriedly at Itachi but gave in and followed his partner out the door. Sasori left without another word too, back to his room.

'Do you think Itachi will be all right?' Hidan asked Sasori as the walked in the same direction to the bedrooms. Sasori though for a moment before answering

'yes I believe he will be, luckily Kisame got there in time, although I believe Itachi was able to fight him off before anything serious happened!'

'yeah that fucking snake, I cant believe Leader let him just go like that!!' Hidan said, going back to cursing. Sasori didn't reply, but agreed with Hidan, if it were up to him, Orochimaru would be dead.

'Well it looks like you have no partner now Sasori!' Hidan cut through the silence.

'Yes and I have no need for one either!' Sasori replied bluntly.

'Your lucky Sasori, now you have the bed all to yourself!' Kakuzu said with envy.

'Hey what the fuck does that mean Kakuzu!!! Don't you like sharing a bed with me!!!!' Hidan shouted.

'haha you see how easy it is to get him riled up!' Kakuzu laughed to Sasori.

'yes well, it was quite different sharing a bed with that snake every night, I look forward to having it for myself now!' Sasori replied opening the door to his room.

'yes, well good night Sasori' Kakuzu said opening the door to his room.

'hmpt! Sure you don't wanna sleep on the couch Kakuzu!!!' Hidan said stubbornly.

'Just get in here Hidan!!' Kakuzu replied angrily, pulling him in and slamming the door shut. Sasori smiled and walked into his own room; now that he was awake he didn't feel too much like sleeping, so he decided to work on his puppets. As he worked he though of Orochimaru, and how repulsive he was.

He remembered Orochimaru saying he was interested in Itachi, and felt a little bad for not doing something about it sooner. He mind wondered to the blonde kid from Iwagakure, Orochimaru had also taken a fancy to him. Thank god he wouldn't be going on any missions with him as in a few days time; it would be his turn to check up on the kid.

Sasori though it was a waste of time, the kid was clearly too young to join the organization, and he didn't know why the leader was so interested in taken him in anyway. He sighed heavily as he thought of his mission ahead to watch the stupid blonde kid, but didn't think much more of it, instead he sat up the rest of the night, working on his puppets, enjoying the solitude and absence of his former partner Orochimaru.

* * *

Deidara's eyes fluttered as a strong beam of sunlight lite up his room from the morning sun, it must have been dawn as the sun was just peaking over Iwagakure's rocky mountains. After waiting a moment to adjust his eyes to the brightness, he went to get up, but jerked violently in pain and lay back in position. He eyes scrunched up in agony as he felt his hole body was stiff, especially his legs and back.

And then it all came back to him, what happened before. His head hit the soft pillow in realisation as a sequence of flash backs races through his mind; the Tsuchikage feeling him with his bony finger, taking his pants off, Deidara's mouth and hands sucking him off, the Tsuchikage brutally raping him, the shear agony of every ruthless thrust inside him, ripping and tearing him, the smell of his blood mingling with the scented oils...everything came back to him.

He could vaguely remember how he got back here. The Tsuchikage's personal guards took him home in a carriage. He could just faintly remember them lifting him out and dragging him to his front door, his mother opened it, Deidara couldn't see the look on her face, as everything was blurry, all he saw was her pointing for them to bring him upstairs when everything went black.

Deidara bit his lip, the pain in his muscles was too much, he let out a soft whimper, gripping his pillow tightly. Suddenly there was a soft knock on the door, and Deidara's mother walked warily in. Deidara's blue eyes met her guilt ridden ones, but there was no possible way she would have know what the Tsuchikage was gonna do to him, Deidara though quickly, after all she was his mother, she wouldn't do something that cruel.

'...Deidara.....erm...' she paused, not knowing what to say to her son. She saw him gaze at her and quickly averted her eyes to his broken body, and noticed that the blood that stained his legs was seeping through the sheets. She gasped and quickly turned around, covering her guilty expression.

'Deidara...are you...urm...are you...okay?' she asked hastily. Deidara put on a brave face and nodded, but when noticing she still had her back turned to him, he quickly answered

'y-yes m-mother...'he noticed his voice sounded husky and horse. It was sore to talk and he tasted a substance in his mouth, to which his horror he realised was the Tsuchikage's semen.

'good...urm...so...you must have been training with the Tsuchikage h-hard...' she said in a fake bright voice. Deidara creased his eyes in confusement,

'w-what?'

'Well you arrived home late last night...with some (his mother's voice shook) b-blood...and then you fainted from exhaustion...I just assumed you were training.' She said, knowing full well what really happened to Deidara.

Deidara paused for a moment, so she doesn't know what really happened? Deidara felt his heart twist painfully, but decided against telling her, his mother didn't need to know the shameful truth, what if she though badly of him? He already was having a hard time getting nice attention from his mother, this would make things worse.

'y-yeah un....I w-was...t-training yeah' Deidara stumbled out, his voice fading.

'very nice, well I'm gonna make some breakfast, would you like me to bring you up something?' she said, still not looking at him. Deidara was surprised; his mother never gave him attention like his.

'urm...y-yeah un..if y-your n-not to b-busy...' he replied meekly, fighting the urge to throw up all the sticky white cum in his mouth. Deidara's mother nodded and walked quickly out the door, once it was shut; she slid down the door to her knees and gripped her stomach, fighting tears. It was obvious her son was in agony, She had let this happen to him, lied to him pretending she didn't know what happened, and now her son was still really polite, and too ashamed to say what really happened to him. She wiped the guilty tears away with her apron and walked down stairs to cook breakfast for the first time for Deidara.

Deidara sat on his bed, wincing at every time he moved. He couldn't believe what had happened last night, it felt like a bad dream, but the pain was still here to prove it was real. He looked underneath his sheet and saw to his repulsion that his blue kimono was stained with dry blood and thick sticky cum, it was in his finder nails and hair, some dried cum was even stuck to his mouth, didn't his mother notice?

He tried to move again, but an aching pain shot up through his leg to his behind, which was swollen and tender, he had never felt so disgusting in his whole life. He laid his head back on the pillow and couldn't stop the flow of tears streaming down his cheeks. Tears of shame, and Pain.

******************

Sasori woke up early that morning; the sun was just peaking up over the horizon. He stretched a little in bed, trying to shake of the tiredness. He had stayed up all night working on his puppets and only went to bed a few hours ago. Sasori wasn't complaining though…it was the most comfortable night's sleep he had ever had, now with the absence of his slimy ex partner Orchimaru.

On his way to the kitchen, he walked past Itachi and Kisame's room, and noticed the door was off its hinges and broken; Kisame certainly didn't waste anytime when he was concerned about Itachi. Sasori though of last night and what had happened. He had just been screwing on a loose hinge to one of his puppets, when he heard a loud crash that shook the walls. That must have been when Kisame crashed through the door. He had never seen Kisame so angry, or Itachi that vulnerable before. Sasori though, for Itachi's age, that he was extremely matured and in self control…but last night he saw just how young and susceptible the teenage really was.

As he opened the kitchen door, he hoped nobody would question him about the events of last night. Although he did care for Itachi, being a former member and a friend…of some sort, Sasori was usually quiet and self contained, he didn't like to show his emotion, or what he had left of them, and preferred to stand in the outside of things. He didn't know what to think of, or way to say about last night, and hopefully it wouldn't be brought up again. Much to his disappointment as soon as he opened the kitchen door, Hidan's cursing was the first thing he heard.

'That fucking snake, who the fuck does he think he is?!? Trying it on with Itachi, I outta go find him right now and—'

'—Hidan no!!' Kakuzu scowled 'Leader told us to let him be, hes gone now, so he wont do us any more trouble so just leave it, for the last time!'

Hidan looked outraged; Sasori just took a mug of coffee and sat by the table.

'Trouble for us??? Is that all you fucking care about you bastard?? That fucking snake almost hurt one of my best friends in his shithole and you expect me to just sit here and let him get away with it?!?'

Kakuzu rolled his eyes, and Sasori rubbed his temples, he could feel a head ache coming.

'No Hidan, but getting all railed up and shouting isn't going to get you anywhere, have you considered Itachi's feelings, he will not want this spoke of by any of us, so keep your voice down before you wake him up—' Just then Itachi walked into the kitchen, followed closely by Kisame who was looking very grim. The hole kitchen went quiet, even Sasori sat down he mug of coffee to look at Itachi.

'Hey g-good morning…Itachi!!' Hidan said anxiously, rubbing the back of his head. 'Sleep well last night..er..well…I mean…after…urm' Kakuzu kicked Hidan under the table, and Itachi sighed and sat down.

'He slept fine' Kisame growled, still in a foul mood after last night. There was complete silence again, only shaken by Kisame sitting down next to Itachi, almost in a protective way. Hidan hummed a little, thinking of something he could say, he really detested silences. Kakuzu looked at his partner in a severe sort of way, as if warning him not to say anything stupid and Sasori stared at them all, his face unconcerned and impassive as always, although Itachi could mistake the slight awkward worry etched in his amber eyes.

'Look guys…I would appreciate it if we could forget what happened last night and go back to normal' Itachi paused and then hesitated, finding this conversation hard 'although…Orochimaru (Itachi convulsed as he said the name, and Kisame's bared his teeth) managed to make it into my room last night…nothing serious happened before Kisame came'

Kakuzu looked a little relieved, Hidan cursed thankfully to himself and Sasori nodded feeling a little less tense at the sensitive subject. Kisame however did not look any calmer.

'I am grateful for you coming to my a-aid (Itachi found it hard to admit he had needed help) but please…I would rather if we didn't bring this subject up again, your concern is unnecessary.' Itachi said smoothly, looking down at his plate.

Sasori nodded understandably, Kakuzu shook his head, saying 'of course Itachi, it wont be spoken of again'.

'Yeah fuck him, we all know that fucking snake was no competition for the almighty Uchiha!!' Hidan grinned and punched him lightly on the shoulder. Itachi smiled at this, his confidence being a little restored.

'Thanks guys…' Itachi replied lightly, meaning every word. He was thankful to be able to call these guys his family. Kisame however suddenly got up from the table and stormed out, slamming the door. All the member's looked at Itachi, who sighed sadly before getting up to see to his partner.

A moment after Itachi left, Pain and Konan walked through the door, looking like they where in a hurry.

'Myself and Konan are going to watch the child in Iwagakure today, measure his skills and capabilities for ourselves' Pain said putting on his Akatsuki cloak. Sasori rolled his eyes, he didn't know why they were still wasting there time on this young brat.

'Something the matter Sasori?' Pain asked sternly. Sasori looked up from his coffee, wondering if he could be bold enough to speak his mind.

'I just don't see the capability in the child myself sir' Sasori replied glumly

'His skills are rare, Sasori, strange yet deadly if trained in the right approach' Pain answered back.

'Unusual skills I presume, but other than that, he's mediocre, reckless, even if trained by our method I do not see the beneficial of his skills in battle, or in this organisation!' Sasori replied Darkly.

'That's what you said about Itachi-san, when we first had our sights set on him!' Konan said defensively. Sasori scoffed.

'Yes but he proved to be mature, and exceptionally gifted for his age, This Iwagakure child may be top of his class, but he lacks that of which is required for entry to this organisation!' Sasori replied back a little annoyed. Pain raised an eyebrow

'Oh? And since when did you opinion on what is required to join MY organisation become law Sasori?' Pain asked raising his voice. Hidan looked from Pain to Sasori surprised by the tension of the argument; usually it was just him that argued with the leader so passionately.

'That's not what I mean, but if you put him into this group he will be dead within the first mission, if he survives training with us first!!' Sasori pointed out.

'Sasori, he will be capable to achieve what Itachi has done when he is of the right age, and anyway I don't have time to get into a discussion about this, I have to leave now!' Pain said reaching for the door.

'Speaking of Itachi, how is he now anyway?' Konan asked. Pain stopped at the door to hear about his comrade. Sasori became silent again, staring at his coffee moodily, leaving Kakuzu to answer.

'He seems to be feeling better since last night' Kakuzu replied simply. Pain looked relieved, how could he have forgotten to see Itachi this morning after what happened last night. Konan, as if reading his mind put a hand on his shoulder;

'we will see him when we get back tonight, okay?' she said softly. Pain nodded, appreciating how Konan could always understand him, and the pressure that is involved with being Akatsuki Leader. Without another word to Sasori or the other the left the base to go to Iwagakure.

***********

I'm sorry if there isn't must Deidara in this chapter, I felt I had to write more about Itachi, because I want him (and the other Akatsuki members) to have an interesting role in the Story as well. I will post back with the next chapter very soon, it will be coming closer to the time when Deidara meets Akatsuki, so the next chapters will be violent and have lots of angst.

And the newest Naruto Episode, have you watched it? It was one of the hardest ones I've ever had to watch, ha-ha I'm such a cry baby, but seriously, It was so sad to watch, I feel like Itachi deserves most of this chapter's attention!^^

Review if you feel it was worth reading,

Ninja shallow x


	6. Chapter 7 Mission Failed

Chapter 7 Mission Failed

Deidara's body ached in pain for the next several days, so he skipped going to class, he shut himself up in his room, curled in between the bed sheets. His brother had protested angrily, demanding to know why he was getting off going to his class, but their mother snapped at him for the third time saying it was not of his concern and to let the subject go, before turning back to the dishes, a look of sorrow and guilt etched in her face.

She had cooked breakfast for him for the first time ever, the other morning. Deidara didn't know why he was suddenly getting all this attention from his mother, who usually couldn't look him in the face without looking at disgust at his hands first.

But Deidara wasn't complaining, for the first time ever, his mother seemed to notice him, talk to him, even look at him...the feeling of this new affection was so great, Deidara couldn't have words to describe it, how can so many people take it for granted? He thought.

His father, however had been less sympathic. The first morning he saw Deidara get out of bed and limp to the bathroom, he actually smirked. Deidara locked the door, and stumbled into the shower, washing off all the horrible evidence from the night before...the dry blood and cum sticking all over his body washed down the drain. All the dirty hand prints of the Tsuchikage, was washed away by boiling hot water.

Deidara scrubbed violently at his skin until it was almost raw to try and get rid of the shame and humiliation. When he was done he stepped out of the shower carefully, and wrapped a towel around his thin waist. It clung loosely to his hips. He limped a little over to the mirror and looked at his reflection.

All the blood and semen was gone, but he still felt dirty. He looked down at his mouth hands again and saw the tongues roll out in content, now that they where clean, yet he still felt like they were covered in sticky white cum. As Deidara studied his palms a while longer, a sudden loud thundering on the door made him jump and wince in pain.

'HOW MUCH FUCKING LONGER ARE YOU GONNA BE IN THERE?!?!' his father boomed. Deidara panicked and quickly secured the towel around his waist.

'un..okay..r-ready!' he called back as calmly as he could. He limped over and unlocked the door, allowing his father to burst in. He looked Deidara up and down once then smirked.

'you still look like a cheap whore!' he said darkly. Deidara felt his stomach turn violently sick at the comment.

'w-what?' he said softly

'you heard me, even after you wash all that cum off you, you still look the same!'

Deidara's eyes widened, did he know?

'Yeah I know' he said, almost like he could read Deidara's mind, smirking at his shocked expression. 'the Tsuchikage came to me, asking for you, I told him how good you were with those whore hands of yours, he said he would pay to have a go at you, so obviously I was only too happy to gave you to him!'

Deidara stared at his father in shock, he felt suddenly sick, and light headed, this couldn't be true, nobody would do this to their son, would they?

'oh and by the way, he said you were great, I was talking to him this morning, says you begged and pleaded with him like a whore, and your hands sucked him almost dry,' his father laughed, seeing the hurt look on Deidara, 'so he will want to see you again soon, which is good for us because he will pay!'

'.....p-pay? I...I don't...u-under s-stand, why did y-you...w-why would you l-let him...' Deidara couldn't talk, his voice got all chocked up, he felt tears begin to spill from his eyes. How could his father hate him so much to do this to him?

His father smirked, seeing the obvious hurt and confusion in his son's eyes.

'You're not making any sense, now save your mouth, you'll need that later on in the week...'he laughed cruelly. Deidara couldn't say anything back, all he could think about was his father set this up to happen to him...his own father.

'Maybe you can practice on me for a while, but we might want to leave it, by the look of that limp you have, the Tsuchikage really gave it to ya good, huh!!' he smiled looking lustfully down Deidara's body. 'Now get out of my fucking way!'

Deidara was pushed aside, the door slamming on his face. He didn't even wince his time, his heart hurt too much to feel any other pain. So his father and the had Tsuchikage talked, and arranged for him to sell his body to the leader of his village, the one who is meant to protect all the village people.

Deidara limped slowly back to his room, every move of his body almost killed him but the thought of what his father did hurt him even more, in a hole different way. Deidara felt stupid because even after all the years of abuse, it still took him this long to figure out how much he had meant to his father;....nothing.

Pain and Konan arrived back at the base the next day, disappointed. Their mission to see Deidara failed, since he didn't seem to be at class or anywhere in the village. Pain knew now that the child was most likely at home, but he didn't want to go anywhere near the house in the chance of getting caught. He knew he was able to keep his charka vibes low, but the risk of being seen by anyone wasn't worth it.

He had to keep his identity a secret, if anything happened, if he or Konan was seen, their plan might be revealed, their plan to have Deidara join the Akatsuki.

They walked into the kitchen, throwing their hats over a chair before sitting down. Pain sighed, feeling a little distressed, and Konan noticing this rubbed his shoulder affection ally.

'Would you like a cup of tea?'

'It's okay baby, I'll get it'

'No you sit down and relax, I'll make it!' Konan said firmly pushing him down, Pain smiled at her gratefully then took a seat beside Sasori who was reading.

'So I take it you didn't see the brat!' Sasori said bored, not even looking up from his book. Pain's eyes twitched in annoyance, even if the question was innocent, he could hardy mistake the tone behind it.

'No...we didn't!' was all Pain said.

'Hmm...'Sasori replied, almost in a mocking tone, 'told you the little brat isn't worth your time!'

'Don't you have a two day mission? Why are you still here?' Pain cut in irritated.

'I completed it, left yesterday afternoon, came back this morning, and got your scrolls...easy!' Sasori replied a little smug.

'You weren't attacked?' Pain asked, a little surprised that he completed his mission so quickly.

'oh no, I was attacked, they send troops after me, but they were no match, I got kind of bored to be honest, so I finished them quickly and brought them back here, their in my workshop right now!' Sasori said in a bored tone.

Pain raised an eyebrow, the only time Sasori talked this much was when he was boasting about how great his puppet skills is and how every mission he goes on was easy. Pain knew Sasori was skilled in ways other Shinobi could only dream of, that's why he hired him after all, but Pain couldn't help but feel he was too certain of his "Artwork" as Sasori called it.

'I told you I don't need a partner.' Sasori said darkly. Pain didn't say anything back, but stirred his tea that Konan gave him.

'How is Itachi?' Konan finally asked through the silence. When Sasori merely shrugged, Pain stood up and walked to the door.

'I'll go check on him...' before he left he paused at the door and turned to Sasori; 'It's your turn to watch the child tomorrow' he said firmly.

Sasori's expression of boredom quickly changed to outrage for a split second, and he looked as if he was about to protest but though better of it. This was their leader after all.

'Whatever...'he said impassively, turning back to his book with a glum expression on his face.

Pain watched him for a second before leaving. He didn't know what was with Sasori these last few weeks, usually they got on so well, Sasori was a the kind of man who followed every order obediently and without question. He was never one to argue or disagree with something passionately. To put it simply he respected each member of the Akatsuki and generally worked well with all of them, but now it seemed like he argued with Pain at every opportunity in regards to the Iwagakure kid.

Pain walked down the hallway to Itachi and Kisame's shared room and knocked lightly on the door.

'Enter...' said an impassive voice Pain recognised immediately as Itachi's. Pain walked in and saw Itachi sitting on his bed.

'Leader' Itachi addressed him in respect, 'Is there something you need?'

'Yes...well No, actually I just wanted a small chat with you, if your not busy.'

Itachi nodded obediently and moved over to allow Pain to sit next to him. Pain sat down, and looked around the room for a moment. It was very rare he was in any of the members shared rooms, but was amused to find it exactly how he pictured it; Itachi's side organised and tidy, while Kisame's side was messy.

'Where's Kisame?' Pain asked, easing into the conversation. Itachi looked up from the floor, his eyes were there their normal black color, another rare moment for Pain to see, he was so use to seeing Itachi's powerful guarding Sharingan eyes.

'He's still on the mission you send him, to the land of waves, remember?'

'Oh yes, yes of course, I forgot, there's been a lot on my mind lately...' Pain said rubbing his forehead. Itachi nodded understandably. There was another moment of silence before Pain spoke again.

'I'll come straight to the point, how are you after the other night with Orochimaru, he didn't... hurt you did he?' Itachi tensed up, but slowly shook his head, his dark hair falling beautifully over his eyes.

'No...Nothing like that happened...'

'Good' Pain said relieved, 'I was concerned, I feel like it's my fault, I allowed him to stay in the Akatsuki, ignoring Sasori's persistent warning's of him being a danger!'

'NO! Leader-san, it was not your fault, nobody could have anticipated he would try and go that far...I didn't.'

'Yes, but I ignored the signs of his obvious interest in you, even with the blond child from Iwagakure he showed interest in, I should have done something sooner, as leader I feel responsible for you Itachi, I would never want any of the members to get hurt in anyway.'

'I know...I'm grateful for the safety and protection you give us from all the villages, but as to what almost happened to me, nobody here is to blame but Orochimaru himself!' Itachi replied, 'and everything you do for us in this organization, I can never thank you enough!'

'How are you adjusting into the Akatsuki Itachi?' Itachi looked up, his dark eye brows creased.

'I've been here for three years now Leader-san...'

'Yeah I know... but the time has flown by, I've been so busy, I guess I never had any time to ask before, never to see how you were feeling, if you liked it here, if....if it restored any feeling of a family to you, since...well since you slayed your blood family' Pain smiled a little. Itachi's face however remained blank.

'I'm sorry, I don't know if it's a painful subject for you' Pain added a little awkwardly. Itachi shook his head,

'No...it's not that, don't get me wrong, you have all been like a family to me, I've never felt so at home anywhere else, and I have the best friends here and my partner Kisame...it's just, sometimes I think about my brother, how I left him behind. We didn't have much of a loving father, and so he depended on me so much as a big brother, and now I have let him down!' Itachi said sadly.

'Would you go back to him, and give up the Akatsuki?' Pain asked a little anxiously.

'No, I wouldn't. The village needs to see Sasuke as the hero, as the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan, as everything that was denied to him when I was there. In people's eyes, he was always just a shadow next to me,' Itachi said bitterly.

'Hmm I understand, to your village you were a prodigy, that's why I had my sights set on you to join us, but I'm sure your brother is being well looked after by the Leaf village'

'yes I am quite confident that my ex Sensei Kakashi is acting guardian for him, he is in capable hands, it just hurts to know that my little brother hates me so passionately, but I guess it's understandable, considering what I have done!'

'You may have done him a favour Itachi, I know your clan held a lot of pressure on him, especially your father, no child needs that!' Pain said softly.

'Yes...perhaps.' Itachi said unconvinced.

'I'm happy to have you in the organization Itachi, and if you feel like you ever want to see your brother again, I would be alright with it, although I advise caution as to not get seen or caught!'

'Thank you leader-san,' Itachi said gratefully. Pain nodded, and stood up from the bed.

'Well, I need to go have a word with Sasori about his new mission,' Pain smiled.

Itachi raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

'He has been disrespecting me a lot lately, and getting over confident in his solo missions, so I'm having him go watch the Child in Iwagakure these next few days and he isn't happy about it!' Pain smirked.

'Is Deidara going to be Sasori's new partner?' Itachi asked interested.

'I haven't decided, it will be a long time before he is old enough to join, so in the meantime Sasori will remain solo!' Itachi eyes creased hearing this and his head dropped to the floor.

'Pain...I...have a feeling... Deidara is being cruelly mistreated by his father and village; do you think it wise for him to remain longer in Iwagakure?'

Pain though for a moment before answering.

'You have voiced your concerns about this subject before...'Pain said a little surprised. Itachi nodded and bend his head down.

'Yes I have...after me failing my own brother, I feel compelled to protect this new child...he wouldn't be much older than Sasuke.' Itachi said a little sheepish.

'I see... I don't like forcing members to join Akatsuki, so I know this may sound harsh, but Deidara would be more willing to join, if he feels alienated by his village. That's how it has been for most of you joining the Akatsuki; your villages' rejected you!'

'yes, but what if the damage they are causing him is more serious that we anticipated?'

'What do you mean?'

'Well...he had quite harsh bruising on his face, and he was limping slightly...'

'That could have been from a sparring match Itachi'

'He looked unnaturally thin and unhealthy...'

'Maybe he was exhausted from training; I believe he's the best in his class, that's why I am interested in obtaining him after all!'

'Yeah...your right, it's most likely nothing...' Itachi said hesitantly. Pain saw his unsure expression and put a hand on his shoulder.

'Until then I will keep sending Sasori to check up on him...just in case your suspicions are correct!' Itachi smiled and nodded his head in appreciation.

Hidan sat beside Kakuzu on the couch, flicking through the TV channels lazily. He looked at his partner, who was doing accounts, same as usual and sighed heavily.

'You wana go hunt some action?' Hidan asked turning to face him.

'No...' was all Kakuzu said. Hidan rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'Well then you wana go train? Bet I can get you into my curse ritual!' Hidan said grinning.

'............' Kakuzu didn't answer; he was too busy calculating in his head.

'Kakuzu!?'

'.............'

'I'm fucking bored!!' Hidan yelled. Kakuzu still said nothing, not even looking up from his papers. Hidan glared at his partner a little longer before getting up.

'Where are you going?' Kakuzu asked.

'I'm going to stick knives into me and then maybe pray to Jaisn! It will be more fun than hanging with you!!!'Hidan shouted angrily.

'You know I don't like that...'Kakuzu said seriously.

'What....Praying to Jaisn?' Hidan asked confused. Kakuzu sat up, his papers falling to the floor.

'No...Cutting yourself...hurting your body!' Kakuzu said bluntly.

'What the fuck are you talking about, it's what I do, I love pain!' Hidan said confused.

'I still don't like when you do it, I don't understand why you would want to hurt yourself!'Kakuzu said, taking Hidan's hand in his.

'Kakuzu....' Hidan blushed at his caring side, 'you don't need ta worry about me, I will never die from the pain I do on myself!'

'I know....'Kakuzu said softly, 'but I'm your partner, and after what happened to Itachi the other night, I realized that I need to protect you from everything...even yourself' he said with a small smile, 'I don't want anything bad to happen to you Hidan'

Hidan was taken aback by this soft side of his partner.

'Who are you, and what have you done with the real Kakuzu??' Hidan mocked. Kakuzu laughed and held his partners hand in his own.

'If I go with you to train, will you not cut yourself this time?' Hidan smiled smugly;

'Sure, I just cut you up instead!!'

Both the partners walked into the Akatsuki grounds, where all the members trained, their leader Pain appeared and walked up to them.

'Have you seen Sasori anywhere?' he asked the two.

'Yeah he was in the living room last time we saw him!' Hidan answered.

Pain nodded and walked in that direction, until he found him sitting on a leather arm chair.

'Sasori...' Pain addressed him. Sasori looked up from his book, his dark red hair falling over his auburn eyes.

'Yes Leader-san?'

'About you mission to Iwagakure...' Sasori groaned in annoyance, he really didn't see the point of going there. Pain ignoring his moan continued; 'you are to leave before dusk, and make it there by midnight...'

'Tonight??? What is the point of that?' Sasori asked raising his voice.

'so you can watch the house, and be there exactly when he leaves to go to class, there has been too many mishaps lately, most of them my own, but the point is you will catch him early, spend the day studying him, and then report back to me!'

'but leader-san...'

'No objections Sasori, are we clear about the mission?' Pain cut in.

'.....yes...leader-san!' Sasori said defeated.

'good, now be ready to leave, it's a 3 hour journey to Iwagakure, and Sasori...you are getting over confident having no partner, keep your guard up when you are there and don't be seen by anyone, understood?'

Sasori nodded, looking irritated. Pain left with no other words, leaving Sasori on his own again. Sasori though about the mission...it wasn't even a real mission, it was just babysitting some stupid blond kid. Sasori couldn't believe his luck; the leader was giving all the other members the best missions, while he was left with this.

He didn't care though, sure he will leave the base tonight, but as for travelling the whole way to Iwagakure, he wasn't gonna do it, it's not like the leader would find out, he could just stay in some hostel in a nearby village, then make it to see the brat in the morning time! Perfect Sasori though as he got his puppets ready that evening.

Night-time had fallen over Iwagakure, the cold wind blew through the trees and rattled the window of Deidara's room, but what woke him suddenly, was a painful tug of his hair. In the darkness of him room, he could make out the figure of his father, his breath heavily intoxicated with alcohol.

'Get the fuck up, you worthless piece of shit!' his father yelled, grabbing a fistful of Deidara's golden blond hair, almost ripping it from his roots. Deidara yelped in pain, being dragged out of bed and hitting the wooden floor with a painful thud.

'Get dressed whore, you're going to see the Tsuchikage tonight again' he sneered throwing a dark red kimono at Deidara, ripping off his pyjamas.

'un...father...please, don't let him...'

'SHUP UP' his father spat, back-handing him harshly across the face, the force leaving a burning sting across his cheek. Deidara held in a muffled cry, feeling his clothes being forced off, the humiliation and shame of being stripped forcefully by his own father.

'Won't be needing these!' his father smirked, throwing off Deidara's pants.

Tears leaked from Deidara's eyes, the burning shame cursing through his body. His stomach lurched at the thought of what was coming and he couldn't help but beg his father even more.

'please...p-please...don't let him un...don't...p-please f-father' Deidara sobbed as he was dragged out of his room and down the stairs.

'I said SHUT UP!!' his father shouted, kicking Deidara in the stomach. Deidara leaned forward, grasping his ribcage in severe pain.

'What's going on dad?' Deidara's sister said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

'Nothing go back to bed honey...' he replied quickly. Deidara's mother appeared at the door in her nightdress, a shocked look on her face. But she didn't say anything; she knew where is father was taking him.

Deidara father dragged him out of the house, where a carriage was waiting for them. He grabbed another fistful of Deidara's hair and shoved him inside.

'you have something for me?' his father asked the driver. The driver nodded and pulled out a small brown package, filled with money. The father smirked running his fingers through the notes and left.

Deidara looked from the window as the carriage pulled off, towards the temple. A trickle of blood fell from his mouth, from when his father hit his stomach, but he wiped it away with the back of his hand. Before he knew it he was being dragged out of the carriage again by the Tsuchikage guards, and back up the temple stone steps he saw only two nights ago.

'Well well well Deidara, I have been looking forward to seeing you again, my beauty...but you don't look like you want to see me, looks like you needed a little persuading,' he smiled indicating to the blood oozing from Deidara's mouth.

Deidara didn't say anything; he stared helplessly at the floor, tears leaking from his eyes. He felt scared and sick, thinking what was gonna come.

'what a shame we have to resort to violence to drag you to come...oh well, I will try and make you enjoy it this time!' he said with a sick smile, taking off his robe.

Sasori rang the bell on at the hostel. It was in a small, uninhabited village a little away from the Akatsuki base, he would never be recognised as an Akatsuki member here, so there was no change of word spreading.

'How can I help you young one?' the man behind the counter asked kindly. Sasori raised his eyebrow, but decided to let the "young one" comment slide this time.

'Single room for the night' he replied tonelessly. The owner was a little taken back by his mature voice, but nodded and got the keys to the room.

'Will you be needing a wakeup call sir?'

Sasori though for a moment, Iwagakure was only at most two hours away from here, he would have plenty of time to make it if he left in the morning. What would the harm be if he was a little late? All the little brat would be doing now is sleeping in his bed anyway, so there was no way he was gonna go travelling miles in the night, while the stupid blond was cosy in bed.

'No...That won't be necessary!'

******

_Aww if only Sasori went to __Iwagakure__ that night, Deidara could have been saved, what will happen when Sasori goes to __Iwagakure__ in the morning??_

_I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I'm sorry for the long update, it's very difficult with the amount of college work I have on now, but believe me I really want to write this, and I can't put up a chapter only half heartily written, I just need the motivation!! I will write the next chapter at every chance I get and update as soon as I can, until then please review so I can see if you are liking the story, if I can improve on anything, if you like the sideline stories of Itachi, Hidan etc or if you think I'm losing the plot altogether, I really wana hear your thoughts on how this story is going!_

_See you in the next chapter,_

_Ninjashallow _


	7. Chapter 8 KATSU!

Chapter 8 KATSU

'You called for _us_ leader-san?'

Pain turned and faced his subordinate, his eyes cold. 'Yes…I have a mission for you, and you must leave at once…'

'**Oh? And what is it you want us to do?' **

'I want you to follow Sasori on his mission, watch him and see if he completes his assignment of observing Deidara properly…'

'oh really?'

'yes, Sasori has been acting indifferent to my orders, and its quite clear he doesn't agree on recruiting Deidara into his organization, I want you to keep an eye on him, but don't let him be aware of your presence.'

'**Leave it to us!' **

************

Sasori awoke that morning, nestled under the sheets in comfort. Since he joined the Akatsuki it was very difficult to rest living with his former members; with Hidan and Kakuzu constantly fighting or making love loudly, or Kisame stomping around the hallways at midnight, or even sharing a room, never less a bed with his EX partner Orochimaru.

That filthy snake, Sasori mused, as he untangled himself from the comfort of the sheets in his warm bed. 'I wonder what he's up to now...' he was sure he hadn't seen the last of the creep yet.

His toes touched the cold floor boards of the small hostel room, and he shivered. He couldn't believe he had to get up now and watch some stupid blond all day. The little brat was probably still in bed, while Sasori packed his belongings, getting ready to leave. This was going to be a long day.

*********

Deidara dragged his feet up the stairs, leaning on the railing for support. His father followed behind him with an amused look on his face. He stumbled on a step and leaned against the wall hissing in pain. His father smirked, laughing a little. Deidara closed his eyes, as tears dropped down his pale cheeks. He took a moment to breath, before trying again.

'Hurry up boy, I wana get back to bed!!' His father said getting impatient. Deidara quickly lifted his leg to the final step, and couldn't compress a painful cry as his torn walls stretched further, oozing out blood that leaked down his leg to his ankle.

'WATCH IT!!You will get blood all over the carpet!!' his father shouted, looking at the fine green expensive carpet Deidara was dreading on recklessly. Deidara hunched down in pain, every muscle in his small body aching just like the night before.

He had spent most of the night with the Tsuchikage, and he had wasted no time on Deidara, striping him from his clothes, and raping him as brutally as last time.

'Are you listening to me boy? I said you're bleeding all over my god damn expensive carpet! Look at you!!' he shouted angrily, shoving Deidara.

Deidara groaned in pain, and looked down. His kimono was torn in places and sticking to the inside of his legs with blood. How was he going to explain this to his mother?

'Get changed out that those clothes, and hurry up and get ready for school!!' his father demanded, pushing harshly past him. Deidara froze in shock, looking at his father.

'...S-school?' Deidara asked confused, he couldn't possibly tell him to go to class in this condition; He could hardly walk. His father turned round to him in frustration.

'...Is there an echo in here...yeah I said school!! HURRY UP,' he snapped, looking at his son in disgust.

'b-but...but...I' Deidara tried to explain, before suddenly his father had him smashed up against the wall by his collar.

'I told you to go and get ready for school, and when I tell you to do something, YOUR FUCKING DO IT!!' he said gripping Deidara's blond hair forcefully with his fist and smashing his head back against the wall, 'GOT IT?' he threatened.

Deidara nodded hastily, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. His father threw him a filthy look before letting go of him, Deidara dropped to the ground with a harsh thud.

'HURRY UP, you're already late, and for the last time, get off that carpet...' his father said, 'it's worth more than you are!' he spat before storming off.

Deidara felt his cruel words sink in and stab painfully at his heart. He made a move to get up, but found all the muscles in his body ache at the slightest movement. He took another long breath, focusing his little remaining charka to the main muscle movements of his body, aiding him to stand up and lean against the wall. Very few students his age would have been able to control their charka as skilfully as Deidara could.

He struggled to get to his room, and dressing was the most difficult part. He didn't have time to take a shower as he was already late for class, so instead he cleaned whatever blood he could off his legs, before changing into cleaner clothes.

Grabbing his ninja kit, and some clay, he left outside the house into the bright morning sunlight, with a painful limp in his step, unaware that a certain Red haired S-rank Ninja was following him.

********** (same scene, Sasori's POV)

Sasori sat outside Deidara's house, on a tree facing, what he assumed was Deidara's window. It was almost 7.30 and the first signs of the morning sun was beginning to peak over the horizon. Sasori scowled to himself, thinking it ridiculous that he should have to wait outside some stupid brat's house, while _said_ brat was still in a deep sleep, in his comfortable bed. Sasori didn't like waiting, he was starting to get impatient.

He cleared a few branches and leaves away that were obstructing his view from the window before settling down to wait for the brat to leave for school.

Sasori studied Deidara's window, and found it odd that his curtains weren't drawn over. Didn't he pull the curtains in his room before going to bed? Sasori also noticed the window cell had a dozen of small clay models...mostly of birds and insects.

Sasori scoffed, turning his eyes away from the stupid clay models, to the sky. It was getting considerably brighter every minute and there was still no sign of the stupid blond waking up. If he didn't leave soon he would be late for class. What if the kid had already left? After all Sasori was a little late coming, and it was almost bright, leader would not be pleased if he missed Deidara ...._na_... there was no way he could already have left for class, Sasori told himself, all he had to do was wait a little longer.

Sure enough a few minutes later, the front door to Deidara's house slid open, and the blond kid appeared, wrapped up in a dark grey kimono, carrying a ninja kit.

Sasori was outraged. The stupid little brat finally decided to show his face, and he was...Sasori looked at his pocket watch....25minutes late for class. He had the nerve to sleep in!! Why the hell does Pain want this brat in their organization anyway???

Sasori jumped from the tree to the roof top, observing Deidara with a look of distaste, and followed him down the street, jumping from roof top to roof top soundlessly, making sure to mask his charka. He rolled his eyes thinking what a stupid waste of time this was, when he could be on a real mission, killing with his beloved art, and making long lasting human puppets out of the dead bodies.

He wondered what was so great about Deidara's technique that interested their leader Pain so much. What skill could the brat possess that made him worthy to join such a fearful organization?

Sasori followed the kid at a painfully slow pace all the way to the school, making such to keep a safe distance between them. For a brat to be this late for class, he wondered why he was taking so long to walk. Now that he thought about it, on closer expect ion the kid seemed to be walking funny too.

Sasori observed closer studying his walking pattern....he was walking really funny...why was he walking like this, almost like he was limping, leaning very heavily on one foot, before slowly moving the other....he couldn't see the kids face, but from behind his shoulders seemed to scrunch up, almost like he was in pain while taking every step.

Finally they reached the gates of the Iwagakure ninja school, and Sasori moved to the top of the building, landing gracefully on the roof, overlooking the entire school yard. He had to be extra careful here with his charka, knowing that the school had quite a few experienced Chunin and Jounin and teaching the students.

For now all he could do was wait, maybe try and get close to the window of Deidara's class room, but he didn't see the point, instead he relaxed on the roof top, directly underneath the warm sun rays shining down on him, and waited.

**************

Deidara groaned in pain, leaning heavily on the hallway wall outside his class. That walk to school left his entire body aching, every muscle felt on fire. He wiped the sweat off his forehead, and stumbled forward a little to his class room. Just a little further he told himself.

The entire class stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Deidara as he opened the door and walked in.

'Deidara, class starts at 9.00 am sharp, what reason do you have for....for...' the Sensei stopped in mid sentence, observing Deidara's body. His face was covered in purple bruises, his lip had a deep cut on it, and his eye was blackened. Not to mention he looked terrible, with heavy bags under his eyes, and his usual clean blond hair in a mess.

'I'm s-sorry sensei un...' Deidara said quickly, unfazed by the class sniggering from his speech pattern; he was use to it by now.

'Deidara...just take your seat please.' The sensei said bluntly. He didn't even bother asking how he got the bruises. He figured some of the other boys beat him up after school or something. Either way he found he really didn't care much.

Deidara stood at the door hesitantly, looking nervously at his seat to the sensei. He knew he had to walk the whole way down to his seat in front of the entire class.

'Deidara is there something wrong?' his sensei asked sternly. Deidara shook his head immediately, but remained routed to the spot.

'Then get to your seat this instant!' he snapped pointing in the direction of Deidara's desk at the back. Very slowly Deidara took a step towards his seat, and immediately the entire class burst out in to laughter at his glaringly obvious limping.

Deidara blushed seeing even his crush Miya laugh, he really didn't think she would laugh at him too, this was humiliating. The sensei looked disbelievingly at him, as the class laughed. Some of them whispered excited to each other, pointing at him.

Deidara bit his lip, trying to ignore all the hurtful laughter as he limped painfully to his seat. He has never felt so embarrassed; it literally felt like a walk of shame. He finally reached his seat, and slowly sat down, letting out a silent hiss. His heart almost stopped as he felt a little blood leak, but luckily he was wearing dark gray clothing, so it wouldn't show.

'All right, class quiet down, we have a lot of work to get on with,' the sensei said turning back to the blackboard. Deidara sat uncomfortably on his seat, staring outside the window, longing to be out in the sun. The view from his class room was beautiful. For a village known for rocks and barren grounds, it certainly did have amazing wildlife, even then a bird few past, it beautiful long wings gliding in the wind.

Deidara would have given anything to be able to fly like that. He turned his attention to the mountains in the distance; huge ugly carved heads of past Tsuchikage's were carved into the stone. Deidara though it took away from the beautiful nature surrounding it.

Looking at the heads of the old village leaders, made him think of the villages third Tsuchikage today, and he inwardly shutters, feeling sick and ashamed at the thought of what he did. And he was suppose to protect them...the village leader, who was meant to keep all the villagers from harm, including Deidara, had violated him so cruelly.

********

Sasori gazed up at the blue sky, watching a bird soar past, stretching his wings out into the sun. He never had any appreciation for nature like that. It wouldn't live long. He much preferred the huge stone heads that where carved on the mountains from the two past Tsuchikage's he guessed. He knew a lot of hard work and craft went into creating the huge monuments. He admitted for a village that was known for rocks and dirt, it also has some amazing stone work.

He was taken from his thoughts by the sound of a bell ringing, and assumed it must have been lunch. Carefully he concealed his charka, and stayed hidden on the roof top, overlooking the yard.

He watched as all the stupid kids filled out for lunch, and couldn't help but think they all looked like weak second rate ninja's. He wouldn't even waste his time making most of these kids into puppets. He smiled slightly thinking on how Hidan would love to show these brats a thing or two.

Deidara walked out of the classroom, and down the hallway heading towards the lunch line, just before he rounded the corner he heard a familiar voice say

'Did you see Deidara this morning, he is such a freak!' one girl said nastily, and Deidara heard a group of girls laughing.

'yeah I know, ugh the way he always says "un" after everything, and I can't stand looking at his hands, usually he wears gloves but he didn't even bother today!' another said. Deidara bit his lip and looked at his palms; he completely forgot to wear his gloves today.

'Ugh as least you're not the one that has to pretend to like that _freak_!' another female said and Deidara's felt a sudden stab at his heart, and he quickly listened closer, that was Miya's voice.

'oh yeah, I can't believe you actually took that dare on, I mean are you actually gonna go so far as to kiss him on your "date"?'

'No way!! I'm just gonna stick to the dare, I don't have to kiss him, I just have to get him to take his shirt off to see if he really does have a mouth on his chest!' Miya replied smirking. The girls looked at her shocked.

'ugh can you imagine if he really does?!? That would be so weird!'

'Jin in our class said he saw him in Ninjutsu class changing his shirt and there was a mouth on his chest too, but I bet he's just making in up!'

'well we will know for such if he does when you go out on a date with him, he will definitely take off his shirt for you if you ask him, he so fancies you!'

'yeah he will totally do what you say, you're like the only person that's been nice to him, I can't believe he fell for your act!!' one girl said laughing.

'yeah whatever, I'm gonna keep acting nice to him and lead him on but as soon as it's done, I'm never speaking to him again!' Miya said laughing, all the girls starting laughing, their voices becoming muffled as they walked away. Deidara stood rooted to the spot, behind the wall, with a heavy lump in his throat.

So she had just pretended to like him, as a dare from the rest of the class, just to see if he had a mouth on his chest, and then when she found out she would tell everyone. Deidara could not believe he had been so stupid as to actually believe someone actually had feeling for him. He felt sick, a heavy weight in his stomach. And he felt sad, really sad. Why did they want to hurt him so much, what had he ever done to them? He would have treated her nice, been a gentleman, he did not deserve this...did he?

Deidara didn't know anymore, why would everyone keep trying to hurt him if he didn't do something wrong, if he didn't deserve it? Why did he ever have to fall for her? He knew why...because she treated him like a human, smiled at him, she was even good at art, and didn't laugh at his art...but it had all been an act, all her kindness was fake, and she really did think he was a freak, just like everybody else.

Deidara walked out of the school, not feeling very hungry anymore, and suddeny bumped into the group of girls who had just been talking about him.

'oh hey Deidara!' Miya said sweetly, curling her finger around her hair, smiling at him. Deidara froze up, his heart beating rapidly, what should he say?

'urm...hi...un...' he stuttered, mentally kicking himself after thinking on what she said about his speech habit.

'oh yeah, so would you like to go on a date soon?' she said to him smiling falsy. Deidara hesitated for a moment, he could see the other girls listening eagerly for an answer, and suddenly he thought of his father saying nobody would love him...maybe he could try and make her love him back....maybe he could settle with her even if he knew she didn't like him....maybe he should just die alone....

All these question went through Deidara's head, when he was interrupted

'well...do you want to?' she snapped a little impatiently, looking at him in false appeal.

'un...yeah un, okay...I would love to un...' he added nervously, knowing that it was all a fix, the least he could do is show her his chest if the so badly wanted to know, then she could tell everyone and finally end their curiosity, he would be bullied more, and she would show her true side and tell him that it was all a dare...that she actually found him revolting, but he didn't care anymore, what did it matter if one more person hated him?

'Okay cool, see you baby!' she added sweetly before skipping off with her friends, who immediately started laughing to each other. Deidara stared on before walking outside sadly. His muscles where still hurting him, and it was still hard to walk. Maybe he could tell the whole school he was being beaten and raped as well, then it would be something more for them to make fun off he though bitterly.

Sasori looked extremely bored on the roof, watching the school yard, wishing for this day to be over so he could return to the base and work on his puppets. How dare the leader give him such a boring safe mission, this was not want S-Ranked criminals were suppose to be doing. He thought of Hidan and Kakuzu on their mission, capturing and killing a group of Captain Leaders over some hidden valuable scroll, no doubt there was some bounty in it too, and here he was babysitting some stupid brat!

His attention became more focused when he spotted Deidara walk out of the door into the yard alone. He seemed to walk on the outside of the yard almost as if he was avoiding everyone else. He stopped briefly and Sasori assumed he was searching for his friends at a table, but instead he found an empty seat at the far end of the yard and sat down alone.

Sasori narrowed his eyes, observing him. He expected any minute now for some of the other teens his age to sit next to him, but it was quickly becoming obvious that all the other classmates weren't interested. It didn't take long for Sasori to observe that Deidara didn't have many friends, none by the looks of it anyway.

'Hey freak!' a tall fair haired boy said walking up to Deidara, surrounded with his fellow cronies. Deidara looked up alarmed, and Sasori could not mistake the panic and almost expecting look in Deidara's eyes.

'What the hell happened to you?' he sneered pointing to Deidara bruising, making Sasori quickly learn that Deidara's bruising was not the work of his class mates…who injured him then?

'Leave me alone...' Deidara said in a reparative tone, making Sasori assume Deidara dealt with this on a daily basis.

'Did you see the freak walk?' one boy scorned, sniggering to another boy, who laughed along. The all started laughing as one boy imitated Deidara limping, mocking him.

'Yeah, why are you limping freak?'

'Stop calling me that!' Deidara said trying to sound confident, but his voice cracked slightly. Sasori watched from the roof top, emotionless, as he saw the kid being ruthlessly bullied by his fellow peers. More class mates gathered around, most of them looking excited, intent on seeing Deidara bullied and humiliated.

'Stop calling you "freak"? But that's what you are! A disgusting weirdo, with hands on your mouths, ugh...' he mocked. A few more burst out laughing, more gathered around.

'I heard your mother fell into a big toxic waste barrel when she was pregnant with you, that's why you're all mutated!!!!'

'Shut up, I'm not mutated un!!' Deidara shouted, his voice sounding more desperate. Sasori watched it all, with his eyes wide open, he got the impression Deidara was trying very hard not to sound like he cared, and was failing miserably. More students gathered around, craving more action. He though the scene was disgusting. He had been bullied the exact same way in the sand village when he was Deidara's age, most of the Akatsuki members had; and then people wonder why they join evil organisations!!

'Then why do you have mouths on your hands, you freak?!' one shouted.

'No...I-I'm not...I just...' Deidara stuttered, and Sasori was almost certain he could hear his voice being to crack. He wondered why nobody would stick up for him; he was totally alone as everyone surrounded him. Didn't anybody have the confidence to leave the crowd and help their class mate? But then he supposed he wouldn't have cared either.

'You're a mutated monster, a demon that should be sealed away forever!!!' one shouted pushing Deidara's shoulder harshly. Sasori eyes darkened and his hands pulsed, fighting the urge to use his blue charka strings and puppets, but why should he stick up for some stupid blonde brat. Besides it would be completely ludicrous for a notorious criminal from the Akatsuki suddenly appearing down and battening a yard full of mediocre school kids.

Another boy pushed Deidara on the chest, and Deidara backed away hissing in pain as his bruises were still sensitive. He looked up anxiously, mentally counting the number of opponents, there were around 7 guys who usually started fighting with him, and Deidara could usually handle that, but if the rest of the class mates started too, with Deidara still in a delicate condition, he didn't think he could take them all, even with his precious art.

'Yeah,' a class mate agreed, 'ha-ha like all the tails demons, you're like the freakish hand demon, our village should throw you out before you turn into a big mouth hand demon and kill us all!!'' they all laughed, and Deidara bit his lip, forcing back tears.

'Just...j-just leave m-me alone un!' Deidara shouted, trying to sound angry but it coming of more as a desperate plea. He didn't want to get into a fight today, all his muscles where still aching from last night, he didn't want to be in more pain. He knew he wasn't fit to defend himself with kicks or punches anyway, if he even tried to stretch his leg he knew he would bleed.

'un un un, hahaha did you hear him?!?' one guy shouted laughing at his speech.

'I'm Deidara _un_, I have freaky mouths on my hands _un_, I play around with stupid clay _un_, I stutter and have a speech impediment un un _UN_ !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' another mocked, and everyone burst into laughter. Deidara couldn't take it anymore, he grabbed his bag and went to leave, but one of the boys put out his foot and tripped him, sending Deidara crashing to the ground, his ninja kit falling beside him.

A boy picked it up and opened it, looking inside. He laughed and starting taking stuff out of it.

'Look what the freak keeps in his bag!' he said picking up a sketch book full of bird drawings. Everyone laughed, Deidara blushed. He then took out some clay models, one of a small dragon.

'What the hell is that?' he said throwing it to the ground. Deidara watched as his precious art was thrown around, everyone laughing at it. Sasori watched the whole scene, every last heartbreaking, raw, cruel laughing and scorning the kids screamed at the blonde kid, the one Sasori was oppose to be watching over, the kid that Pain insisted on making him join the Akatsuki. Sasori couldn't barley watch this weak kid getting bullied, this kid was supposedly meant to join Akatsuki, how could he already disgrace them before even joining.

Did he hate the little brat, or did he actually feel sorry for him? If the leader wanted him in the Akatsuki, then for some reason he felt complied to protect Deidara, because if he liked it or not, he wanted the Akatsuki name to remain feared and respected, and not have some stupid tarnishing it, before he's even accepted.

He looked back down at Deidara, and saw that his fisted where clenched, and he had a wild look in his eyes. He couldn't take it anymore, all the laughing, all the jeering, the hurtful name calling, the beatings, everything. Suddenly, almost as in slow motion Sasori saw him perform a hand seal, and shout

"_**KATSU!!!!!**_'

An explosion erupted throw the yard, and an ear splitting scream from the ring leader of the boys, as he fell to his knees, clutching his hand...or what appeared to be left of it, in agony. Blood poured all over the ground, and everyone started screaming, backing away from Deidara. Tables crashed over, kids were tripping over chairs and crashing into tables. A dozen Chunin and Jounin came running out to all the commotion, surrounding Deidara.

Sasori watched astounded as Deidara stood there calmly, his surge of charka was flowing with an ominous air around him. Sasori noticed that Deidara's eyes were widened and glazed with awe and fascination of what could only be the feeling of power and blood lust, Sasori knew this because he had felt the exact same way.

'DEIDARA IF YOU MAKE ONE MORE HAND SEAL, WE WILL ATTACK!!!' the Sensei shouted standing in an attack stance. Deidara kept his hands still, preferring not to make any trouble. Once the teachers noticed this, they calmed down slightly, and moved up closer to him.

'Nobody touch the clay models!' another shouted, and immediately everyone backed away from all the clay.

Sasori hesitated for a split second; it was dangerous him being in the area, with so many people, in case he was detected. He quickly took one last look at Deidara, before jumping off the roof, and landing neatly on the ground, opposite all the commotion in the school yard. He could still hear the injured kid screaming, and all the Chunin and Jounin shouting. He turned to face away, before suddenly Sensing a familiar charka.

'Where are you??' Sasori said impassively, scanning the trees. A sudden huge figure appeared up beneath the ground under him, sprouting his huge green leafs away, leaving a black and while face behind. Sasori narrowed his eyes.

'What are you doing here?' he asked darkly, addressing the plant man.

'Leader-san wanted us to spy on Deidara…' the white side said. Sasori raised a thin shaped eyebrow.

'He asked you to spy on the brat as well?' Sasori asked, unconvinced.

'**Tell him the truth**,' the black side said, and Sasori already knew almost immediately.

'Okay okay, the leader wanted us to spy on you, spying on Deidara…' the white side said truthfully. Sasori was outraged,

'Why did he tell you to spy on me??' Sasori demanded.

'**Because he felt like you weren't taking the mission seriously, he told us to follow you to see if you make it on time, and if you actually watch Deidara**.'

'Well I have been watching the his precious brat as you can see, so you can just go back to Pain and tell him—'

'— **we have been following you all morning Sasori, you came late to his house, and you just lay on the roof, not even watching him while in class, leader-san wont be too happy to hear this information…'**

Sasori frowned, mentally trying to think of a defence, he never had failed a mission, or not carry out orders to perfection, and he didn't want the leader's opinion to change of him. but before Sasori could speak, the white side added;

'He also said you haven't taken fondly to the idea of Deidara becoming part of Akatsuki, and thus entrusted us to the job of spying, since he assumed you would mess it up…'

'Well good, aren't you in this organisation to spy anyway, its not my job to baby-sit little kids' Sasori said smoothly, infuriated with the leader.

'What has been happening anyway, I'm hearing so much shouting from the school yard…'

'Didn't you see? The stupid brat lost his cool and blow off a fellow class-mates hand with one of those darn explosive's!' Sasori said annoyed, looking in the direction of the school.

'**Really, what made him do that?' **

'He was getting bullied; worthless brat couldn't even stand up for himself, immature and childish way to deal with the situation I think!' Sasori replied in distain. Zetsu looked towards Sasori frowning slightly.

'Another one with odd techniques and social problems? Does everyone in our organization have these kind of predicaments?' the white side said with a sigh.

'What do you mean by that?' Sasori asked darkly.

'**Im just saying all of us where rejected by our village, as far as I can remember me and Kakuzu found you—'**

'— Shut up!!' Sasori hissed back, 'our abnormalities are nothing compared to that brat, I'm not surprised he's being bullied like that!'

Zetsu refrained from reminding Sasori that he was a puppet, knowing it would anger him more.

'Are you coming to see what happens?' the white side said facing Sasori. The shouting could still be heard. Sasori scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning away from Zetsu.

'Whatever, leader obviously doesn't want me to hang around since he got you to SPY on me…' Sasori said, he temper getting worse. All he wanted to do now was report back to base, and get on with some real missions, not stupid, degrading low "missions" like this. He knew Kakuzu and Kisame, the elder members would love to rub it in, and even Hidan will be a nuisance to listen to tonight.

'**Sasori, I'm warning you, the leader won't be happy if you leave now!' **Sasori turned back giving him one of his emotionless, I don't care look's before sweeping off into the trees, out of view. Zetsu stood facing Sasori's direction, feeling his charka sent until he was completely gone, before a sudden shout made him look back in alarm.

'Deidara get back here NOW!!!!' A Chunin was shouting. Zetsu heard the pounding steps of someone running in his direction, and he felt an over whelming sense of strong, pumping charka. He quickly lowered himself into the earth, inconspicuous, and observed as a blond kid ran, in a rather awkward way, down the street, a look of fear and horror on his face.

'GET HIM!!' they shouted speeding up after him. Deidara ran as fast as he could, but Zetsu was almost such he was limping in an odd way, whatever was wrong with him, he wasn't able to run properly anyway.

Eventually the caught up with him and cornered him like a frightened animal. Deidara stared at him, gasping for breath; blood was trailing down to his ankles, his entire body felt on fire.

'Your not going any further!!' a Genin spat, looking at Deidara in loath and disgust.

'PLEASE, I…I DIDN'T MEAN…I..UN…'Deidara stuttered helplessly, backing up as they moved in closer with their kunai. All the school children gathered around with looks of hate etched on their faces too.

'You have been a danger to this village since the day you where born!!' they shouted angrily. Deidara shook his head.

'n-no un…I've n-never…h-hurt anyone…I…un…'

'YOU'RE A MONSTER!'

'A FREAK!' they cried, rounding in on him.

'Noooooooo!' Deidara shouted back desperately, tears beginning to from in his eyes. He needed to get out of here; if ever he was going to fly he needed to do it now.

'please….s-sensei….' Deidara pleaded looking at his sensei, who looked back with a mixture of revulsion and pity, before turning away, rejecting him, his own student.

'I've heard enough, get him and bring him to the Tsuchikage!' a Genin shouted. Deidara's heart stopped, and his eyes considerably widened. The Tsuchikage? No they couldn't, not again.

'No……..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!' Deidara shouted as several Genin jumped on him pinning him to the ground, 'NO YOU CANT DO THIS….NOOOO PLEASE P-PLEASE…NOOOOOOO!!' he screamed, thrashing around in a frenzy. They struggled to keep their grip on him, slamming him against the ground.

'GET HIM OUT OF HERE!!' one shouted. The stood up, picking a struggling Deidara up with him. Zetsu watched they whole scene in horror. Why was he so frightened to go to the Tsuchikage? Surely he wouldn't give Deidara a death sentence for blowing a class mates hand off? Especially at Deidara's young age.

'_NOOO….PLEASE….P-PLEASE DON'T BRING ME T-THERE…….._' Deidara continued to scream desperately, thrashing around in the grip of the elder ninjas. Zetsu watched from the earth, Deidara being carried away, he sounded almost insane, the screaming and shouting pleas of Deidara filled the entire street that even onlookers stopped to watch the scene.

'_STOP…….PLEASE…..D-DON'T DO THIS…UN!!!!_' Deidara's screaming began to fade as he went out of sight. Everyone stood out watching him being dragged off until they were gone. Faint distant screams could be heard. Zetsu watched as the whole school gathered around talking excitedly, a little about the injured kid, but mostly about Deidara.

'What a freak!!' one kid said to another.

'What do you think will happen to him?' another said.

'I don't know; hope its something awful though!'

'All right class,' the Sensei's said gathering up the students, 'let's get back inside.'

Zetsu climbed out of the earth when he was sure they were all gone back inside the building. He stood at the spot where Deidara was dragged away, debating whether or not to follow or to go back and tell the leader what had just happened. If he went to the Tsuchikage's temple, he was sure it would be heavily guarded with ANBU. It might be too much of a risk incase he was seen.

But then again….what if something bad happened, say if he was imprisoned or worst case put to death, he could even be thrown out of the village; either way leader would want to know.

'**Well what are we doing?'**

'Hmmm….I curious to see what happens to the kid, but if we were caught…'

'**We won't be caught; we can hide perfectly and conceal our charka…'**

'…but we should really report back to leader-san, Sasori might not tell him the truth'

'**come on, I want to see what happens!!'**

'okay we will go, just to see what will happen and then report back to leader!'

**************

Sasori reached the base sooner than expected. He was much faster when he didn't travel in Hiruko. Walking up to the stone cave walls, he decided to report to Pain first, to get it over with. Maybe then he would be put back to regular missions. He knocked on his door and waited.

'Enter…'

Sasori opened the door and walked into the shadowed room, two blood red eye's where the first to meet his. Sasori raised his eyebrow slightly, staring back as Itachi. The leader looked at them both before addressing him.

'Sasori,' Pain said surveying him with his Rinnegan, 'you travelled to Iwagakure?' Sasori nodded, looking briefly at Itachi. 'Gave me in a brief summary of your observations on Deidara.'

'From what I seen the brat is a disappointment, first the brat kept me waiting, sleeping in and being late for class,' Sasori said coldly, pausing slightly, expecting a better response from Pain and Itachi. Didn't that slow the kid was childish and lazy? 'When he arrived _late_ (Sasori emphasised the word strongly) in wondered in, disturbing the entire…'

'Get to the point Sasori…' Pain said irritated, rubbing his temples.

'His abilities are mediocre, his values seem childish and irresponsible and he is most certainly lacking obedience and control, just today he blew off a fellow class mates hand!' both Itachi and the leader attention was grasped.

'Really? What happened?' Itachi asked curiously. Pain nodded looked towards Sasori for more information.

'I don't know, the stupid brat couldn't handle a little name calling, so completely disregarded rules and regulation and his emotion, and just flipped…'

'How did he injure the other?'

'Like I said, he blew his hand off!' Sasori replied irritated.

'In what _form_ did he accomplish this?' Pain rephrased. 'With…some… clay model, or sculpture of some sort…' Sasori said shrugging limply.

'I see…interesting…' Pain simply said. Sasori stared back at them confused, why where they so interested, did it not matter to them that the kid just ignored all regulations and acted on raw impulse.

'What's going to happen to him now?' Itachi asked Sasori smoothly.

'I don't know, they took him to see the Tsuchikage, for punishment I assume…'

'You didn't follow?' Pain said raising his eyebrow.

'No.' Sasori said bluntly, getting fed up with this.

'How did Deidara look?' Itachi asked suddenly. Sasori raised an eyebrow at the strange question.

'Er…Like a stupid childish brat…'

'_No_,' Itachi said slightly annoyed, 'I mean did he look injured, any forms of bruising or anything like that?'

'…………….'

'Answer the question Sasori' Pain ordered.

'I was observing him from a distance, so no I didn't really see his face, but he was walking rather funny, like he had a limp, now is that it? May I leave now?'

'Fine you may go, you missions will resume as normal…' Pain said turning away from him, 'as for you Itachi, when you do decide to check up on Sasuke, take extra caution, I have heard the ANBU have doubled in Konohagakure since your disappearance from the massacre.'

Sasori raised an eyebrow and looked questionably at Itachi, who's eyes where hidden beneath his loose strands of raven hair. The both were walked out the door, Sasori turning to Itachi as soon as the where safe from Pain door.

'Do you mind telling me what Leader was saying to you about this Sasuke?' Sasori asked a little harshly.

'It is nothing of importance to you,' Itachi replied quietly, but apon seeing Sasori's glaring look, he sighed and spoke,

'Listen, it's not what you think…'

'Do you still have association with your village?! That slash across your headband is meant to symbolise your betrayal to your village and your loyalty to Akatsuki!!' Sasori hissed.

'I am aware,' Itachi replied coldly 'but this is different, Sasuke…my…my baby brother,' Itachi trailed off, staring at the dark cave floor. Sasori stared back at Itachi, his mud brown eyes taking his features in. he remembered the day Itachi arrived at the base, having just slaughtered his entire clan, well everyone but one.

He remembered how he could be heard, all night howling in his room, over how much he hurt his brother. Every member usually avoided the subject with him, and eventually he clamed down, it hasn't been spoken about for 3 years now, apart from the odd, rare night that he could still hear him cry.

'Your right, it's of no importance to me….'Sasori said bluntly before walking off. Itachi looked up and hesitated slightly. He respected Sasori and didn't want his opinion to change of him.

'Sasori…please don't inform Kisame of what you heard…he thinks I've gotten over it.' He said meekly. Sasori stopped and nodded, before disappearing away.

**********

Zetsu emerged out of the earth, just outside a huge stone temple, assuming it was the temple of the Tsuchikage. He saw five guards walk up the stone temple,

'Urgent information to tell the Tsuchikage…' one spoke hurriedly, to another guard, who nodded and allowed them through. If he dug below, he was sure he could land right underneath the Tsuchikage and hear what was going on.

'Ōnoki-sama,' they all bowed in respect, 'we have vital news for you…'

'Yes what is it?' he replied, stroking his long triangular beard.

'it appears the f-freak..uh…I mean Deidara has severely injured another student with his dangerous..uh…mouth hands!' the said seriously.

The Tsuchikage sat up suddenly, looking widely at the guards.

'Really? When did this happen?'

'Just now, the guards are bringing him here as we speak,' the Tsuchikage's eyes lite up at hearing that, Zetsu watched from the ground, confused by the strange expression on his face.

'hmmm really, I see. I suppose we expected it to happen sooner or later, Deidara has a very strange and dangerous gift…'

'….freakish gift if you ask me…' one muttered.

'**ha he thinks Deidara's freakish? Wait until the see Kisame, or even us**' the black side of Zetsu said sniggering.

'Keep quiet!' the white side snapped, turning his attention back to the conversation. The Tsuchikage turned around and smiled.

'hmm, yes its freakish, but it does have its use's,' he said sickly, thinking of Deidara's mouths on his hands, and feeling a certain arousal underneath his robe.

'What are you planning to do Ōnoki-sama, have him thrown out from the village?' one guard asked.

'He should be executed! It's about time, that freak has been a danger to our village since the day he was born!' another shouted.

'oh yes…he is rather a menace now that his gifts has finally come into fruition,' the Tsuchikage said, staring out of the window at the village. Zetsu raised his eye brows, where they really going to kill such a young child?

'Sooo…..do you want us to dispose of him then?' the guards asked unsurely.

'Yes….but there's no rush, bring him to me,' he turned to them smiling deviously, 'let's have some _fun_ first…'

*************

_Okay so I made this chapter extra long for you guys, because I feel like I have been neglecting it. I hoped you enjoyed it, and I hope the story isn't dragging on too much, don't worry I plan for Deidara and Sasori to finally meet in the next chapter!! What do you think will happen next????_

_Also Thanks for all your reviews; they help me so much, even if it's just to encourage me to write more!! I hope this fic is going okay, and I'm trying to not make the characters too much out of character, I still want the Akatsuki to be mean criminals, I guess this is the side nobody else sees when they are alone in the base! Please tell me if it's okay, because I like to keep close enough to the story and characters!:)_

_********_

_Ooh, and I kept meaning to reply to your reviews, so here I go;_

**Tobifan66** haha yeah people are so mean, especially in my fics (maybe its because I mean O_O) but dont worry, I will make it all up to Deidara and any other character I love that gets hurt! Thank you for reviewing!

**Dark-Zeblock** I hope you liked this chapter and it was worth the wait! If there's anything you dont like be sure to tell me!!:)

**XSweetXSourXSoul** haha yes Sasori is a baka for not going to save poor dei-chan, but I guess he didnt know, he doesn't really care for the "brat" but things will change soon...:) thanks for the review!

**Black55widow** yeah I wanted Itachi to see more because that's kind of his characters isn't it, I think he very observant and doesn't miss anything, maybe Sasori would have seen the signs only he was too stubborn! I hope you didn't mind him not having a big shock at seeing Deidara, he noticed him limping but I'm pretending he dosent realise whats happened to him, maybe because hes a puppet and he's lost so much emotion, but yes he hates child abuse but I didnt want him to figure out until when he meets him up close!

**Sakuyakitchi **yeah its a little hard to write, I dont want to make the abuse too over dramatic, but I still want it to be sad, so you feel sorry for Deidara and get to really care for him (not that we couldn't love him anymore!!) but thanks for the review!!

**BetaCat** Thanks for the review, I will try my best to update as often as possible, I know what its like to wait on a fanfic to update! Dont worry you haven't seen the last of Orochimaru! You make a good point about keeping the Akatsuki in character. I know they are evil, but when they are together I'm having them like eachother, I guess I just want them to be almost like a family in this fic, I plan on writing more of them meeting other characters (Kakashi, Naruto, Garra, Sasuke as just a little hint!) so obiviously Im gonna have them exactly like how the act in the manga, mean!!(so they are just nice to eachother) thanks again, you really helped me think of more detailed plots!!:)

**Ochineko** yeah me and Sasori is very horrible to Deidara, but both of us plan to make it up to him!! I love Deidara and hate wrting the abuse parts of the fanfic, but Dont worry the more bad things that happen to Deidara, the more good things I will make happen to him in future!! Thanks for reviewing!!

**Vanya** haha yes Im thinking of the most painfull and slowest deaths I can!! Hahaha dont worry you know how strong Deidara is in the manga, he will definitely get his revenge!! Thank you for reviewing, and keep holding your breath for the next chapter if you can, cause its gona be awesome!!

**K.S.T.M** yes I plan for them to finally meet in the next chapter, Sasori won't be happy about having him as a new partner, but he won't be able to ignore what happened to him either!!

**Lady-Alucard** Thank you, Im glad you enjoyed reading it, hopefully you liked this one, and will stick around for the next chapter too!!:)

**M,S** Thanks for the review, I just saw it a few minutes ago, and that made me finish up the last few sentences and post this up!! Sorry for the wait, hehe you're like Sasori, very impatient!! Haha just kidden!see you in the next chapter!

_Thanks for all the reviews, I will update soon, I'm sure it will be exciting to finally have Deidara meet the Akatsuki!!_

_****OMG the Manga chapter suspense is killing me, I can't wait until this Thursday****_

_Ninjashallow _


	8. Chapter 9 Heartless

Chapter 9 Heartless

Deidara was dragged up those dreaded stone steps of the temple to the Tsuchikage. He struggled desperately, his sandals trailing along the stone ground, splitting them, making his toenails bleed, but he still tried to get away. The guards had a vice like grip on him, their fingers digging into his small shoulders, forcing him up the stone steps to his doom.

It was like de-sha-voo, being dragged up the stone steps, the long curtains decorticating the temple, the posters of the infamous organization The Akatsuki plastered on the walls with warnings under them.

Deidara bit his lip as they reached the last step, and his stomach lurched as he immediately saw his father standing there smirking. To Deidara's horror his mother was standing there too, not even meeting his eyes. Even though he knew it was hopeless he pleaded desperately

'FATHER, FATHER....PLEASE....PLEASE STOP THEM!! I...I D-DIDNT DO A-ANYTHING....._FATHER_!!!!!!!' but he just stood there smirking at his son, his eyes glistening with anticipation.

At long last the Tsuchikage appeared, walking out from behind purple velvet drapes, he keep his calm stride up, stopping just two steps in front of Deidara.

'well well well Deidara...I didn't think you were eager to meet this soon...' he said, a sweet sickly smile playing on his lips. Deidara felt his insides squirm at the sound of his voice.

'tut tut, you have been a naughty boy, haven't you Deidara...blowing up a fellow class mates hand...care to explain? Deidara lifted his head up, panting heavily.

'.....I...ah...I..wa...uh' Deidara couldn't speak, his tongue was dry and twisted up in his mouth, his stomach felt nauseous, and his heart pounded furiously. The Tsuchikage smirked at his attempt to speak.

He glanced desperately to his parents again, before looking back to the Tsuchikage,

'So naughty, that you need to be severely punished…'

'Don't…u-un, p-please d-don't…' Deidara pleaded, tears leaking from his eyes, that familiar sick feeling building up in his stomach.

'Don't…what?' the Tsuchikage laughed.

'………' Deidara could even say it; he stared helplessly at the Tsuchikage, pleading for any other punishment other than that.

'f-father…' Deidara turned his attention to him, begging, 'f-father, p-please…'

'I have to punish you Deidara…assault on one of my villagers…is assault on the Tsuchikage himself!' he said, almost poetically.

'P-please…p-p-lease d-don't d-do t-this un…' Deidara was almost on his knees begging. 'MOTHER…' Deidara shouted out desperately, 'Mother, p-please, don't l-let him—'

'— ha your mother knows what been happening to you from the start!' the Tsuchikage said keeping his eyes on Deidara lustfully. Deidara looked over in horror at his mother, who quickly averted her eyes, to ashamed to look back at him.

'oh yes, they have been making some money out off you Deidara, pity you had to go and seriously injure one of our villager's, you would have made a better whore than a ninja, but unfortunately it's too dangerous to keep you alive in our village, such a shame really...I was looking forward to our little nights together...but now, I do believe the village is finally had enough of you....you didn't expect you could live a normal life did you?' he smirked.

Deidara looked away, anywhere but at the Tsuchikage, through the guards, he noticed a poster on the stone wall, it was a blurred photo of a man in a black cloak with red clouds, the picture was too blurred to make out his face, but a blur of brilliant messy red hair shone through. Under it said;

"Sasori of the red Sand"

S-Rank member of Akatsuki, **WARNING** extremely dangerous

Deidara thought of the Akatsuki, of this ninja, looking so frightening, in the heat of battle, he had of course read about them, and learnt about them in class...they were powerful, people feared and respected them...they weren't weak...they would never let this happen to them...

A sudden harsh slap to his face snapped Deidara back to reality, as he looked back up to the Tsuchikage, who was looking at him impatiently.

'Did you hear what I said child? You have disrupted this town, seriously injured a class mate...it won't do Deidara...you need to be punished!' Deidara only realised now that his lip was leaking blood from that last slap, and it stung, but all he could think about was how weak he was... how this would never happen to powerful ninja like this Sasori...how he had spent his whole live training to protect this god dammed village, and this is how they repay him...

'LISTEN TO ME YOU STUPID WHORE!' the Tsuchikage snapped, back-handing Deidara across the cheek again. He must have been day dreaming again. He heard his mother cry out a little, but couldn't look over to her. He wished she wasn't here to see this...it was humiliating enough.

Deidara lowered his eye's to the ground, he just wanted it to be over now, what did it matter if his mother watched, or his father smirked, he would be dead soon. The Tsuchikage must have been thinking the same thing, as he snapped his fingers, signalling the rest of the room to leave, before undressing.

Deidara was grateful as least for the Tsuchikage ordering the others to leave. The last thing he wanted was to have his mother watch him be molested in front of her...even if she didn't care. At least his father won't have the pleasure of seeing his son suck the village leader off Deidara though bitterly.

The Tsuchikage ordered the two guards holding Deidara to leave now before he dropped his final garment, now leaving them completely alone in the room. He must have assumed Deidara didn't have the will to run away, or fight him off; he must look as broken as he feels.

'Look at me...' the Tsuchikage said in a sick voice, the icy coldness of it making Deidara want to throw up. Deidara didn't lift his head; he couldn't...couldn't look at him. The Tsuchikage signed and took the two steps to Deidara, who tightened up, his heart pounding furiously.

'I said....look at me...' the Tsuchikage said smoothly, cupping his long bony fingers around Deidara smooth face and tilting his head upwards until their eyes met.

'It will soon be all over....' he said sweetly, before reaching for Deidara's robe and his trembling body underneath.

Zetsu emerged through the ground quickly, stopping for a brief second, holding his stomach. The black and white side looked at each other and for the first time they had nothing to say to each other. They were pretty much in an isolated area just outside the Rock village. The area was deathly silent and covered by thick trees and foliage so they had no chance of being seen...not that they were worried.

'.....So?' the white side snapped suddenly.

'**So what?'** the black side answered, although he knew what he was talking about.

'So we are wasting time, what will we do now?' he replied quickly. The black side thought for a moment. He was pretty sure they both had the same idea on what to do.

'**..........if we leave now, we will make it back to the leader in no time....but....'** the black side didn't want to finish, again he was sure they were thinking the same thing; how long it would take the leader to get back here to save Deidara.

They had heard the entire conversation...from Deidara being dragged up the temple, until they had left just a second ago when they heard the Tsuchikage undress Deidara. They couldn't stay for that....they may be sick, dangerous S-Rank criminals, and they loved watching fights and action from the ground.... but even they had standards. And they weren't idiots...they both knew it would be stupid to suddenly appear from the ground, save the blond kid and run...then the village would be aware of Akatsuki's plans, and leader-san would not be happy. Besides even they couldn't fight off an entire village and by the sounds f it, the entire village wanted Deidara dead!

No...the most rational thing for them to do was to go back to the base straight away and inform leader of what's happening, and let him take it from there....whether he decides to come back and save the kid, or leave him to die, and start again looking for a new member would be up to him.

Zetsu didn't have any strong opinion on it...it's not like he really cared for the kid....but it haunted him to think of any adult abusing a child like that...it seemed so criminally evil...and this was coming from him....a member of the most evil organisation in the world!!!

'It will take at least 3 hours if our leader and the other members decide to come back for him, and they would have to travel fast!'

'**....there's no point, he will be dead by then...'**

'Then what will we do?' the white side snapped back, all this was still wasting their time. If only Sasori had stayed, then a least with two Akatsuki members they might stand a chance of fighting the village, Sasori after all took down a entire nation with his puppets before.

'**Come on, we will go to the base, and leader-san can take it from there....'**

Sasori sat in the base living room, silently fuming. How dare the leader have a go at him, what did he expect him to do, wait around all day babysitting that stupid brat? And then the leader even had the nerve to send Zetsu to check up on him.

Sasori sat alone in the Akatsuki's living room, staring blankly into space. It had been about an hour since he left Iwagakure, it was still bright outside but Sasori wasn't interested in going any where...he wasn't even interested in repairing damaged puppets (a routine he always liked when coming home from a mission). Sasori could only stare at the blank TV screen, thoughts of the blond kid Deidara stuck to his mind. Seeing the kid getting bullied like that, it stirred up unwanted memories for Sasori, memories he had thought was long forgotten.

What would happen to the kid now? He wasn't aware of the type of punishment the Rock village gave out, he knew his own Sand village was very ruthless with the Sunagakure in charge; he was old and needed replacing Sasori though thinking of him bitterly.

Now that he thought of it, he had heard the Tsuchikage in the rock village was meant to be pretty merciless too....what sort of punishment would he give Deidara. Sasori didn't ponder over this long, finding he didn't really care so much, why should he? At least the leader would have to reconsider recruiting him to the Akatsuki...and Sasori could still go on solo missions without an annoying partner.

He wouldn't have minded so much being paired with the others...Itachi was silent and very mature for his age, Kisame was strong willed and easy to talk to, Kakuzu was intelligent and never kept him waiting and Hidan....well....he couldn't think of any of his positives but he would certainly take him over Orochimaru or some stupid childish brat. Really what was the leader thinking?

Just then a loud slam of a door shook Sasori from his thoughts, as Hidan and Kakuzu emerged, taking of their cloaks, and stretching out on the couch.

'You know TV is more interesting, if you actually turn it on!' Hidan said smirking, lifting the remote to flick around.

'hmpt, there's nothing of interest on anyway....' Sasori replied turning to him; he was surprised to see Hidan covered in blood. Hidan caught his confused look, and smirked putting his feet up on the table.

'pha, it's not my blood, had myself a nice sacrifice on the mission today!!' he smirked happily. Sasori should have known...since when was any Akatsuki member ever covered in their own blood, the idea was humorous.

'Yes and you wasted time with that tedious routine pray afterwards' Kakuzu replied darkly, obviously pissed off with Hidan.

'Fuck you Kakuzu, you know I have to pray after every fucking ritual!' Hidan shouted back. Sasori rolled his eyes...here comes another fight.

'Yes but if you didn't have to do that, we would have been back here hours ago!'

'What the fuck do you care? You have nothing else to do!'

'I still prefer not to have my time wasted with your drawn out battles and stupid rituals, have I not told you a dozen times to kill them quickly and quietly!'

'The Fuck??? Where's the fun in that?!?'Hidan shouted standing up.

'Will you both cut it out, your giving me a headache!' Sasori said coldly. Both Hidan and Kakuzu looked towards Sasori.

'hmpt, what's up with you anyway? You were staring at a fucking blank wall when we came in!'Hidan asked moodily.

'I've just had a very tiresome day, I'm not in the mood to listen to you yell...'Sasori replied, rubbing his temples. Hidan laughed flopping back down on the couch.

'What? Has a little babysitting got the great "Sasori of the red Sand" all worn out?!?' he asked playfully.

'Hidan quiet, didn't you just hear he doesn't want to listen to you right now!' Kakuzu snapped at Hidan. 'What happened Sasori? How did Iwagakure go?' he asked interested.

Sasori took his time before he replied impassively 'it was a complete waste of my day, the little brat is not worthy to join Akatsuki, and on top of that hes immature and childish...he blow off a fellow class mates hand at lunch...'

'WHAT? REALLY?? Coooooool' Hidan piped up suddenly, 'was there loads of blood??? Did you see bone and flesh and...'

'....Hidan SHUT UP! Sasori what do you mean, how did he do that?' Kakuzu asked surprised. Sasori sighed heavily, bored of telling the story to yet another.

'he used a lump of what looked like clay....must have been infused with charka...well anyway it was like a bomb of some sort...and it blow the other's hand clean off...'

'Interesting...'

'thats so fucking cool!'

Sasori looked at them with his cold calculating eyes

'why? Why is that so interesting, you sound exactly like leader-san, doesn't anybody have any regards for rules?'

'tsk, who cares about that! what happened next? Did he go in a big killing spree?' Hidan asked eagerly.

'.....No' Sasori replied bluntly 'he was taken to the Tsuchikage, to be punished I assume...' both Hidan and Kakuzu looked at each other.

'oh...' There was a moment of complete silence before Hidan spoke again.

'I heard the Rock village is supposed to be fucking hard core when it comes to punishment, like all torture, and death sentences and stuff!' Sasori raised an eyebrow,

'So he will be sentenced to death for something so minor? That's a shame; I suppose leader-san will have to find somebody else to replace him...' Kakuzu said.

'Nobody has to replace him, _I don't need a partner!_' Sasori snapped suddenly.

'Everyone needs a partner Sasori-san...'a smooth voice came from behind him, revealing Itachi, with Kisame following behind him. Sasori rolled his eyes upon seeing him, as much as he liked Itachi, he was not in the mood for company today.

Itachi briefly observed Hidan's blood covered body in question before coming to the conclusion that it was not actually his. Everyone in the Akatsuki knew how much Hidan cherished to torture his victims before killing them.

'Your partner balances out you weakness with their strength in turn adding to yours, making it a perfect combination.' He said quietly, taking a seat next to Kakuzu. Sasori scoffed,

'Orochimaru did not balance anything with me, in fact he was so troublesome he actually weakened our status, and beside's I have no weakness...'

'...Is that so?' Itachi said, staring directly at Sasori's heart container through his cloak. Sasori pouted and looked away in a foul mood. He wasn't surprised Itachi found out his only weakness, as long as he didn't tell anyone else about his heart.

The room went quiet after a while, Hidan and Kakuzu picking up their argument where the left off, and Itachi and Kisame talking quietly. Sasori stared at them, and felt alone all of a sudden. It was strange, but seeing them with their partners it made Sasori feel a little empty inside...a sudden thought dawned on him that he will most likely be alone for the rest of his life....alone for eternity.

Sasori was taken from his thoughts as Zetsu suddenly emerged from the ground in front of them surprising them all.

'Jeeezzze Zetsu, can't you use the fucking door like everyone else round here—'

'— _there's no time, where is leader-san?!?_' the white side said quickly, there was a note of panic in his voice. The whole room went silent; they all just stared back at him confused.

'What do you mean, what's wrong?'

'**I checked his office, leader isn't there, have any of you seen him?' **the black side hissed impatiently.

'Why what's happened?'

Zetsu signed, he needed to hurry if they were gonna do anything. Just then, to answer his prayers, Pain and Konan walked in, Pain surveying the scene with his rinnecan eyes.

'What's wrong Zetsu?' Pain said immediately.

'Leader,' Zetsu said relived, 'we came as fast as we could...'

'**The rock village, they have Deidara...'**

'Up in the temple, with the Tsuchikage'

'**we overheard, he's being punished and...and' **the black and white side looked at eachother, before answering at the same time;

'There gonna kill him!!'

'**There gonna kill him!!'**

Pain's eyes widened, Konan gasped, and the rest stood up from their seats quickly. Sasori remained seated staring at them.

'Leader, we must leave immediately,' Itachi said at once, and he actually fastened his cloak, motioning for Kisame to follow him.

'Your not serious are you?' Sasori said suddenly from behind them. Everyone turned around to look at him. 'There's no point, we won't make it in time, he's as good at dead!' he said coldly.

Hidan and Kakuzu looked from Sasori to Pain curiously. Itachi gave Sasori a dark look before turning away

'Come on guys, let's go...' he said as if he didn't hear a word Sasori said. But this time the rest of them stood hesitantly, looking at each other as Sasori's words sank in.

'....maybe he has a point Itachi, I mean...he could be dead by now...' Kakuzu said unsurely.

Hidan frowned, but nodded, would it be worth their time to go? Kisame didn't say anything, even though he was sure the kid would be dead, he would never go against Itachi's word. Pain looked serious, like he was thinking hard.

'yeah, the brat would be dead by now, and the village would know our intentions if we go there to try and get him, it's a waste of time...just forget about him...' Sasori said coolly.

Itachi looked at him coldly. 'You would say that, you selfish bastard... but what about the rest of you? Is Deidara any different to you? Our villages treated us the exact same way as his village is treating him....and your just gonna leave him?....we decided we were gonna take him in as a partner...what if I was in trouble...would you just leave me?...say it's a waste of time?....Deidara is one of us, we have to go back and get him!'

Nobody had ever heard Itachi speak so much in one sentence, Hidan and Kakuzu nodded,

'Itachi's right, lets get him before the village does!'

'if we leave now, we could get there in time!'

'leader-san?'

Pain looked at them seriously, and nodded convinced;

'we will leave immediately, I don't know if we will make it in time, but Itachi's right, as leader I can't allow any of my members to be left for dead...'

'I don't believe this, have you all gone soft?' Sasori said seriously, standing up.

'we leave in pairs, Zetsu can go on ahead, show us the exact location, Itachi and Kisame can go behind him, there fastest, Hidan and Kakuzu can look out from both ends, make sure nobody spots us as were travelling...Sasori you can—'

'—I'm not going anywhere!' Sasori replied back coldly. All of them turned to look at him.

'Sasori, I'm not _asking_ you, I'm ordering you to—'

'—No, its a waste of time, he's dead—'

'—SASORI!' Pain yelled his glare furious, 'YOUR GOING...._NOW_!'

Sasori and Pain held their gaze, the tension was thick, before Sasori finally faltered, lowering his eyes in defeat. Pain looking satisfied, turned to all the members

'Lets go!'

Deidara cried out in agony, as the Tsuchikage pounded in and out ruthlessly, his hips slamming into the back of Deidara, the blood flow helping him slide in and out in a fluid motion.

Deidara's nailed dug into the temple stone ground, breaking them off. His back felt like it was breaking in two, his legs were numb, the muscles on his thighs were burning like fire, and his ribcage was dislodging with every harsh thrust.

'ah aha ah ah, yes ...ah... that's it ....ah almost..... there..... ah aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh' the Tsuchikage let out a heavy long drawn moan of pleasure, his bony fingers digging in through Deidara's delicate skin, piercing it, with the intensity of the orgasm.

Deidara let out a heart retching cry, before dropping down, completely worn out. The Tsuchikage got his breathing back to normal, before pulling out of Deidara, leaving a long trail of sticky white semen mixed with blood. He stood up, wiping the sweat of his forehead that had been the best pleasure he had ever felt, he thought smiling satisfied. He looked down at Deidara, lying in a heap on the ground, crying miserably, and found that he really didn't care.

'Deidara...it's been a pleasure...these little times were shared, but good things always come to an end...'he said snapping his fingers, and two guards appeared. They gripped Deidara under his arm and hauled him up of his feet. Deidara moaned in pain, still panting.

'Gather him up, and take him away...' the Tsuchikage said bluntly, they nodded, harshly grabbing his torn robe and pulling it over him.

'Wait...' the Tsuchikage took a few steps towards Deidara and stroked his face smoothly '....when you do the job....cut off the tongues on his hands....as a _souvenir_...' (Deidara's eyes widened) '....for old time sake's!' he said hotly before turning away completely.

Deidara held his hands out, and screamed until his throat went horse, and blood rose up, as the guards lead him out the back of the temple, to a thick forest. Deidara screamed and screamed as he was lead into a small isolated patch in the middle of the forest, surrounded by think trees crowding over them, enclosing the space. Four other guards were waiting there, along with Deidara's father, who had a wide smirk on his face.

By this point Deidara couldn't use his voice, couldn't move his muscles, his robe was sticking to him with blood and cum, he was sweating heavily, and his heart was beating rapidly.

'Well boy, did you have fun with the Tsuchikage?' his father smiled wickedly walking up to Deidara. Some of the guards laughed, Deidara looked around desperately, there was no escape, nowhere to go...the tree's cast eerie shadows all over them, the forest was deathly silent, not a crow or a rabbit could be heard.

'Are you scared boy? Are you afraid to die?'

Deidara breathed heavily, he looked up towards the sky, but couldn't see any sky; it was covered by thick branches and trees. He suddenly thought about his clay, how he would never sculpt again.

Deidara felt his face get smashed harshly by the back of his father's hand,

'ANSWER ME BOY!' he shouted. Blood spilled from Deidara's mouth, he felt a loose tooth. His father smirked and walked around him. Deidara looked to the guards surrounding him, they all looked down at him smirking, one muscular guy was cracking his knuckles, waiting in anticipation, Deidara realised none of them were going to help him.

'I suppose you're wondering what makes you deserve this?' his father asked amused, when Deidara didn't answer he continued, 'let's just say we are doing you a favour...' he said nastily, crouching down on his knees until he was eye level with Deidara, '...because you don't belong with us, you don't belong anywhere Deidara...your an outcast..._nobody could ever love you_...'

Deidara bowed his head, knowing it was the truth...this was it... his time was up, his pitiful pathetic excuse of a life was finally over...and Deidara suddenly felt relief...he knew they would make it painful, but eventually they were gonna kill him, and Deidara couldn't help but feel relieved at the thought of it all being finally over, he just wished they would get on with it.

'do you know how the Tsuchikage punish Deidara?' he asked him smoothly. Deidara looked down, and his father's eyes followed him... 'no no, not sexually...that was just a once off for you...no, usually it depends on the person....if its someone from a different village, he might be a little merciful...if its someone...eh...say like a Akatsuki member for instant, then it would be every painful....but I believe he has special request for you...'

Deidara gripped his hands tightly, he knew the answer. His father looked amused.

'ah so you know....he wants your tongues ripped out and mounted for his wall hahahahaha' he said laughing, and the all started laughing. Deidara eye's burned in shame, tears streaming down them.

'What do you say to that huh boy?' he said laughing. Deidara, with as much energy as he could, he lifted his head up, and spat blood in his father's face. They all stopped laughing immediately; his father slowly wiped the blood off, his eyes pulsing with rage.

'...big mistake!' he said before smashing his fist into Deidara's mouth breaking his jaw. Deidara fell straight to the ground, blood spurting out of him rapidly. Then all at once every guard started beating him viciously, kicking him in the stomach, shattering their fists into him, stamping on him, kicking his face; Deidara yelled in pain, his bones being broken and smashed up. One guard stamped his boot into Deidara's face breaking his nose, Deidara cried in agony.

'Wait wait, stop, hold up, _stop_!!' his father shouted, all the guards stopped, breathing heavily, Deidara dropped to the ground, rasping and coughing up blood.

'Pick him up...' his father yelled to two guards, while he took out a sharp silver object. Two guards heaved Deidara up and held him in place. A cup full of Blood spilled out of Deidara's mouth as he leaned against them breathing heavily. The shiny glint of the sharp object caught Deidara's eye and he looked up scared.

'...before we cut of his tongue's....I wana choose a part for myself!' he said cruelly, the kunai gleaming in the light. He held the knife up close to Deidara, whose eyes widened, his father grabbed his head, and cupped it in his hand, and very slowing brought the knife to Deidara's eye....

'_aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggggggggggggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'_

Zetsu stopped dead underneath the ground, he had heard a ear splitting scream through the forest, and was almost certain it belonged to Deidara. He was a good bit ahead of the rest of the members because of his ability to travel fast like this, but he was sure he was coming close to where Deidara was. He turned a little back until he sensed Itachi and Kisame charka and emerged thought the earth.

Itachi and Kisame saw him and jumped off the next tree, Itachi landing on the ground gracefully, and Kisame landing beside him making the trees shake a little.

'What is it, are we close?' Kisame said at once.

'Well...I heard some noise about 2 miles east from here, I think he's in the forest just outside Iwagakure'

'**You both go on ahead, we will stay and alert the others as their coming!'**

Itachi nodded, catching his breath, they really have been moving at full speed. The jumped back up to the trees and moved in the direction to where Zetsu said Deidara was. Itachi knew he was coming close, he could feel other's charka...and it felt evil.

Deidara dropped to the ground, screaming, holding his right eye, blood was pouring out in cup full's, he had taken his eyeball out with the kunai. All Deidara could hear was laughter as he squirmed about in pain, hissing, trying to stop the blood flow.

'all right, let's get his over with...' his father said in a bored tone, cleaning his knife. The held him to the ground, two guards hold his arms stretched out, while another one put his weight on Deidara's body immobilizing him.

They took hold of his hand, and stretched out his fingers, leaving room for the two tongues to roll out of the mouth. Deidara struggled desperately, his eye in agony, but it was no use, he couldn't move.

He screamed out in pain as he felt the first cut through his tongue, the think swollen flesh being severed, blood pouring out of the mouth,

'AAAAGHHHH......YOU F-FUCKING B-BASTARDS, YOU BASTARDS....I'LL GET YOU'S FOR THIS YOU HEAR ME,'

They all starting laughing, taunting him, ignoring his pleas.

'...THIS IS FUCKING C-CRUEL!! ....YOU FUCKING B-BASTARDS, YOU...I'll...I'LL K-KILL YOU A-ALL,.... YOU.... HEAR ME?!?..... I'LL KILL YOOOOOUUUU!!'

'yeah yeah yeah...' his father said ripping the last bit off and starting on the other tongue.

'AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH ....YOU....I'LL KILL YOU....' Deidara starting screaming hysterically ... 'I'LL FUCKING KILL ALL OF YOU, ....YOU'LL BE SO DEAD, .....I'LL BLOW YOU TO PIECES!!! ....I'LL OBILIVATE YOU!!! YOU'LL BE SO FUCKING SORRY!!!! YOU'LL BEG FOR MERICY, YOU WILL BE MY ULITMATE MASTERPIECE,'

The last part of Deidara tongue ripped off, and the let go of him, he looked down to his hands and saw there was no tongues left, only galleons of blood oozing out.

'YOU'RE SO FUCKING DEAD!!!!!!!!!!' Deidara screamed manically, 'I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!!!'

'How can you? With no mouths anymore?!!' his father smirked back. He wiped the kunai clean from blood and leaned down until he was at Deidara's eye level.

'you know...I was gonna fuck you one last time before we kill you....but looking at you now....your too disgusting to even touch...'he smirked spitefully before standing back up.

'all right guards...I'll leave him to you...' he smiled, taking one last look at Deidara before walking away, out of the forest and back to his village. Deidara felt a couple of last harsh kicks to him stomach and face, before he felt his head go light, his heart stop beating and then... everything went black.

Sasori leaped through the trees, and stopped suddenly, feeling a sudden dead silence in the forest, as if the forest itself had stopped breathing. He looked around wearily, but all he saw was thick gloomy branches, looming ominously around him, creating shadows. He felt the air around him, trying to sense the others charka, but all he could feel was an eerie coldness.

The air smelt thick with fresh blood...he tried harder to find the others charka....but they were either behind or ahead, somewhere along the way Sasori had lost direction with them, he felt he had gotten thick into the forest as he seemed to be in the area where the trees gathered the most, there was no room for the sky above him.

The smell of blood was surprisingly making him feel nauseous, and he wondered where it was coming from...maybe Hidan ran into a guard and decided to do a sacrifice or something. If that was the case then maybe they weren't too far away.. Sasori knew it would be stupid to shout out for his name, in case there were guards around, so he jumped a few more trees, following the scent of the blood.

As the smell of blood got stronger, Sasori began to feel a very light flow of charka coming from the same direction, and he had no idea who it belonged to. It differently wasn't Hidan's or Itachi's or even pains...he knew all of the member's charka too well, but his was a completely new one.

Whatever it was, it kept fading in and out...like a bad broken radio station or something. Almost as if the charka was reaching out to him, he followed its soft flow, all the way along the thick branches until he came to an open clearing, deep in the forest.

And all at once the sudden answer hit him almost as hard as the stench of blood in the air. Because just 10 feet in front of him lying on the soily earth was the kid they were looking for...Deidara.

Even with his blond hair smothered in fresh blood, Sasori recognised him, and knew it was him. He stared blankly at the kid lying in a heap on the ground, and one little rise and fall of his body told Sasori that the kid was still breathing...barely.

He stood rooted to the spot, they were all alone now in this clearing, and the kid still didn't know of Sasori's appearance...or if he did, he wasn't showing it anyway. A sudden wicked thought hit Sasori as he looked at Deidara. He cloud walk over and finish him now...before the others got here.

All it would take would be one slash to the neck, one stab to the heart...or he could even just suffocate him...make it less painful for the kid....not that it mattered, the kid looked to be in agonizing pain already. And the others wouldn't know it was him...and then he wouldn't have to have a stupid partner.

Sasori took out a sharp kunai from beneath his cloak sleeve and took a few steps towards Deidara. The forest was deathly quiet, except for Deidara's slow faint breathing. Sasori stood above Deidara and rolled him over with a shake of his foot. Deidara flopped over and Sasori almost throw up on the sight of him. His face was smashed and covered in blood, his jaw was broken and one of his eye's was cut out. His usual honey blond hair was painted red with blood and stuck to his face. Deidara's eye's fluttered open a little, and he stared up, trying to focus. All he could see was a brilliant fiery red blur looking down on him.

Sasori stared back down coldly...his brown eyes boring into the depths of Deidara's blue one, and Sasori saw the light was fading from his eyes.

Sasori had never seen anything so pitiful in his whole life.

He put his kunai back up his sleeve, not being able to bring himself to do any harm to the child...it make him feel weak, and angry, he took a few steps back, his eyes never leaving Deidara, until he heard a sudden noise come from the earth.

'Sasori...' Zetsu said sternly, looking at him to Deidara on the ground. Sasori looked away from him, in case he sensed any weakness in Sasori's eyes.

'when did you...'

'I just got here a second ago, he's still breathing...' Sasori replied bluntly, not looking at him.

'Right...' said Zetsu, walking past him, taking a closer look. Zetsu looked down at Deidara, and saw his ripped robe, and blood stained thighs... 'Right...' he repeated again, almost sadly this time.

The rest of the group arrived after that, looking out of breath; they looked at Deidara on the ground to Sasori and Zetsu.

'...is he?' Hidan asked uneasy.

'Dead? No...He's still breathing' Zetsu said quickly.

Kisame, Hidan, and Kakuzu circled Deidara for a closer look. The expression on their face as the saw Deidara said it all. Sasori heard Hidan say something like "Fucking hell" under his breath and look away.

'Is his....shit it is!! his fucking eye has been cut out!!!!!!' Hidan shouted. Sasori was surprised to hear Hidan say that, usually he loved gore and violence.

Everyone made way for Pain to walk up to him; he stood in front of Deidara and leaned down to put a hand on Deidara's neck to feel a pulse. Deidara flinched only a little but made no indication that he knew someone was there.

'His pulse is very weak,' Pain said to no one in particular... 'He won't have long left.'

Konan looked around, 'looks like they took him out here and beat him to an inch of his life...I'd say there was around 6 or 7 of them,' she said indicating to the footprints on the ground.

'Kakuzu,' Pain addressed him suddenly, 'what do you think? Will he make it?'

Kakuzu studied Deidara's body, and the damage done to it, he could see straight away all his ribs were broken, his jaw, nose, both arms and a leg...it wouldn't be two hard to repair them, he was more concerned about the internal damage done.

'I think it's worth a try Leader-san.' was all he said. That was a good enough answer for Pain, he looked Deidara over again, his robes wear ripped, revealing a lot of his pale skin underneath, he needs to be covered up; he looked over to Sasori and clicked his fingers.

'Sasori...your cloak...' he said quickly. Sasori looked at him and made no motion to move. Pain looked over to him questionably, the others looked too,

'....Sasori....give him your cloak!' Pain said more firmly

'No.' was all Sasori said. He wasn't gonna do it, as much as he pitied the kid, he was still a childish brat, and Sasori wasn't about to get his cloak covered in blood for him. They all stared at him, Pain looking very angry.

Itachi had enough; he pushed past him roughly, while removing his own cloak at the same time, and wrapped it gently around Deidara's broken body. Itachi froze for a moment when he noticed Deidara's legs. His sharp eye saw the white semen and blood oozing out of him. He sighed heavily, thinking how disgusting some fellow humans could be to each other.

He looked back and motioned for Kisame to help him, Kisame complied at once, took two long strides over to Deidara and picked him up in his arms and gently heaving Deidara over his shoulder. Deidara moaned at being moved, but hung over him, letting his arms drop down.

The rest of the members followed Kisame, each looking at Sasori in a strange way while passing him. Itachi walked up to him, it was a cold night and he was only wearing his black t-shirt underneath but he didnt shiver once.

'Just because you are an S-Rank criminal, doesn't mean you have to be a _heartless bastard_ all the time!' Itachi said darkly, his black eye's piercing Sasori's hazel ones.

'In case you didn't notice Itachi, I'm a puppet..._I have no heart_!' Sasori replied coldly. Itachi raised an eyebrow, and looked down at Sasori's chest, at his only living organ, for the second time that day. He didn't even brother to say anything, he just shook his head and pushed past Sasori to catch up with the rest, leaving Sasori standing there on his own, staring at the pool of blood on the ground were Deidara almost bled to death. He wouldn't do it, he wouldn't feel anything for a stupid brat, he had gotten along his whole life without anyone, so he didn't need anyone now.

'I have no heart...' he repeated again, to himself.

_Well there you have it, that was a long chapter, so Deidara has now meet with the Akatsuki, even if he wasn't awake for it, it will make the next chapter even more exciting. How will he react if he wakes up? What will the Akatsuki do with him? Will Zetsu and Itachi tell the rest of the members about the sexual abuse? And how will Sasori act towards his new found partner?_

_For those who were waiting on this chapter, I deeply sorry for taking this long. It's around my exam times and I'm finding it hard to study and write this at the same time, I just needed a little break, but in 2 weeks I'm freeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! So I can update all the time!_

_I hope you still enjoy reading this fic, if not tell me why and I will fix it. Sometimes I feel I'm losing the plot, but hopefully after this chapter I can really get into the whole Deidara/Sasori relationship!_

_If there is anything you think I should add to this story, please let me know!_

_I am trying to keep the characters in character. I purposely made Kakuzu as "the healing" guy because he stitched Hidan and Kakuzu together in the manga, and I added in Deidara's eye being cut off as well for reasons you will see later (hope you don't mind, I know it's an eye scope in the manga)_

_Two important reviews...._

_**-shadownin1010-**____you asked what's up with Sasori, I just want him to be hostile with Deidara at the start, because let's face it, it the manga he comes across as being cold-hearted and distant towards people, "even if my own grand-mother dies, I won't feel a thing. My heart is just like this body, she'd just be one more among the thousand I've killed..." when he said things like that in the manga I took him to be even more emotionless that Itachi. Maybe I'm wrong, but don't worry he'll warm up to Deidara soon!!^^_

_**Arivamori (I'm not logged in)**__ thank you, I'm sorry the characters are OCC, I just wanted them to get along like friends in the Akatsuki. I think Sasori did show a little pitty to him in this chapter (like not killing him lol) what do you think? Cus yeah I don't want him to love Deidara immediately, that would be just WAY out of character! And lastly thank you, I do threat rape very seriously, even though I write it in my fanfic, I'm not trying to make fun of it or make a joke out of it. I'm glad you noticed, because it upsets me when people who have no right to joke about it, or no idea how it feels, writes about it in a funny way. I'm completely serious when it comes to this subject, and the abusers in this story will get what's coming to them, don't worry!_

_To all the readers please review and tell me what you liked/disliked! _

_See you soon_

_Ninjashallow _


	9. Chapter 10 Breathing gives me life

Chapter 10 Breathing gives me life

The Journey back to the base was fast, everyone one of the members knew Deidara didn't have long left, and being in the Akatsuki meant that they were naturally faster than normal ninjas however the used their charka for extra speed for the urgency to save him. The skimmed through the trees like blackish red blurs in their cloaks, Pain ahead of the group, Kisame in the middle with Deidara over his strong shoulder, and Hidan and Kakuzu taking both sides of him. Zetsu stayed underneath them, and Konan up above them in case they happen to run in to anybody. Itachi stayed behind them all in case someone attacked from behind and Sasori...well he stayed WAY behind, taking his time, not bothering to use his charka to speed up.

By now the rest of the group, including Itachi was way ahead, so far that Sasori was beginning to lose sent of their charka. It didn't matter, he of course knew his way back to the base, but he couldn't help but feel a slight detachment from the group. After a few more minutes, all Sasori could hear was the sound of his own feet skimming the trees. He was completely alone now. The eerie silence and shadows of the trees around him gave him a sudden lonely feeling.

He shrugged it off immediately as he was use to loneliness, use to his solitude, that's the way he liked it.

He was thankful at last for the dead silence around him, he knew when he got back to the base there would be nothing but noise. The rest of them running around, grabbing medical supplies, pushing through the corroders, getting blankest and sheets, and bandages and needles, all this commotion just to save this brats life. Sasori could almost feel a headache coming on already.

He finally reached the base, and noticed that bastard Itachi had made sure to shut the entrance well behind him leaving Sasori struggling to get it open. He walked up the long cave hallways, noticing the trail of blood splattered along the ground. The kid must have still been bleeding a lot.

Sasori followed the trail until he came to a place that wasn't used very often in the Akatsuki. It was well beneath the ground, all the walled were caved, and the room looked like it hadn't been used in a long time.

When he got to the door, he recognised it as the medical wing, a place he had never had to go while ever being in the Akatsuki. In fact as far as he knew nobody had to go here, because Akatsuki members rarely, if not never, got injured enough. Hidan was the only one to come back with serious injuries, and all of them where self-inflicted but Kakuzu always fixed him up in their own room.

Sasori was relieved the didn't take the brat to him room. He opened the door and sure enough all of the others were running around, pushing, and cleaning his wounds. Sasori tried to leave unnoticed, but Itachi's sharply eye spot him.

'you finally made it I see, how good of you to come!' Itachi said darkly. There was blood on his hands, from Deidara.

'yeah I came, now I'll just be leaving...' Sasori said as he turned to go.

'hey,' Itachi said with almost a hint of emotion grabbing his shoulder, 'you're just gonna leave? He's your partner, aren't you going to help him?'

Sasori was surprised; Itachi rarely touched anyone in the Akatsuki apart from Kisame.

'No, I don't care if that brat lives or dies, now let go of my arm.' Sasori replied coldly. Itachi stared at him amazed, he knew Sasori was cold, like him, but this was below them.

'you are unbelievable...'

'right...'

'that is your partner to be and your just gonna leave him?'

'right.' Sasori repeated again.

'What's going on, what took you so long Sasori?' Hidan said suddenly walking to them.

'I—'Sasori begun,

'—Sasori took his time coming, and he's just about to leave again, says he dosent care if his partner dies—' Itachi cut in quickly.

'He's NOT my partner yet—'

'—are you fucking serious, that kids fucking dying, he bleeding everywhere, your not gonna fucking do anything?'

'Why should I?'

'Well he your partner? you don't feel anything?'

'Nope, nothing...'

'Fuck case man,'

'Look he's dying anyway, no matter what you do...and if by some small chance he does live, then he will be useless...'

'What? Why?' Hidan demanded angrily.

'Look at his hands, the tongues have been cut off, and I believe the brat used them for his explosions, what use his he to us now?' Sasori replied coolly.

Hidan look back, he probably didn't know the tongues were actually cut off, under all that blood. and before Itachi had time to say something Sasori added;

'AND his eye had been cut out, personally I think if he does live, his ninja days are over!' Sasori said in somewhat of a spiteful mocking tone. Itachi just stared at Sasori in disgust, and Hidan stood thinking hard of something to say back, Sasori cloud almost hear his brain working.

'You just don't wana have a partner!' Hidan finally said, 'you think you're so much stronger and smarter than the rest of us!'

'Well yes, but that's not the reason...'

'Fuck you, I could take your stupid puppets any day!' Hidan said angrily, backing up close to him. Sasori was beginning to lose his patience. Since when had all these members become such fucking pussies, wanting to save a kids life, they barely knew.

'I'm losing my patience...'Sasori warned him in a dangerous tone. Everyone in the Akatsuki knew how thin Sasori's patience was. There was a line and they all knew not to cross it.

'Yeah well you're pissing me of too!' Hidan said back. Sasori sighed loudly, he just wanted to be back in his room, fixing his precious puppets.

'Since when have you been so passionate about saving life's Hidan? I though you killed as part of your religion!' Sasori retorted. Hidan looked tongue tied for a moment before shaking his head.

'That's fucking different, he's one of us now, and would you want me to fucking die like that?'

'...No' Sasori admitted.

'What about Itachi, or Konan...or Pain huh, would you wish that on them?'

'No... I wouldn't.' Sasori said looking away in defeat.

'Well then how can you not care about him?'

'Easily, he is not yet a partner...maybe he was gonna be, but he hasn't scratched the symbol of his headband yet, so in my view he is still associated and loyal with his village' Sasori said turning at walk away again. Itachi's eyes flashed with Sharingan and he grabbed Sasori's cloak hauling him back harshly.

'You think he's is gonna be loyal to his village after what they did to him?' Itachi said outraged, even Hidan looked at little shocked. The rest of the group, who had been so busy tending to Deidara on the table, looked around at the commotion.

'What's going on here?' Pain ordered at once.

'Itachi what are you doing?' Kisame asked a little concerned.

'Let go of me NOW!' Sasori said darkly. Itachi and Sasori both stared each other out. The intensity of Itachi's Sharingan not fazing Sasori one bit. He was so tempted to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan on Sasori but refrained from doing so. Finally his grip loosened and he let Sasori go.

The entire room went quiet, all of them staring from Sasori to Itachi, the only sound was Deidara's pained, breathing. His bones must have been crushed into his lungs making it hard for him to breath.

'That's it, Kakuzu, Konan and Itachi you stay here, everyone else OUT NOW!' Pain ordered.

'You don't need any more help?' Kisame asked a little surprised.

'No, thank you Kisame, but Kakuzu can stitch him up from here, and Konan and Itachi can help clear the rest of his wounds, they rest of you can just go, I'll call you if I need any more assistance.'

They rest nodded and moved out. Sasori was about to go when Pain pulled him aside.

'Sasori...I know helping another member didn't come in this Job description, and I know we're the "bad guys"...but...if you ever pull shit like that again like you did in the forest or just now, I will have to reconsider how much I value your skills in this organisation!' Pain said impassively.

'with all due respect _Leader_, you are forgetting that he is not a member until he slashes his headband, what if he wakes up and decides he doesn't want to be a "bad guy" then what, all our secrets become exposed to the world if the brat opens his mouth?'

'If he doesn't wilfully become one of us, we can force him, or kill him...until then you watch yourself Sasori, you are threading on very thin ice with me and the rest of the members, is that clear?'

Sasori mumbled something close to a 'yes sir' and walked back to his room moodily, wishing every possible death on the leader and Itachi for getting him into this mess. But most of all he wished death on that stupid brat that started all this.

Itachi sat down beside Deidara on the medical table, and took a wet cloth to clean his wounds. Kakuzu was still standing after 4 hours, carefully stitching up wounds. Sweat was dripping of him and his eyes were getting clouded. At one time he hand was covered in so much of Deidara's blood it slipped, ripping out all the stitched it took him a good part of an hour to do. He cursed loudly, slamming his fist on the table.

Itachi told him to take a break and that he would take over. He took a small needle and thread, and with very careful and delicate hands he made perfect stitched replacing Kakuzu's.

Konan was mostly healing the broken bones. She wasn't very experienced in this, having never learned medical jutsu, but she knew the basics. He tried to get them back to the right place, so at least they would heal properly. It took her hours too, his ribs were broken, and crushing into his lungs, twice she almost lost him when he struggled to breathe.

Kakuzu came back a little refreshed and took over from Itachi, who went back to cleaning and disinfecting his wounds before they were stitched. The three of them worked in silence, each in deep though.

Konan couldn't believe the cruelty that was done to him. How village people who was meant to protect their villagers could possibly hurt a child this badly and walk away...and to think people had the nerve to call them evil.

Kakuzu was thinking on how all these injuries could not have killed this child sooner. He was use to Hidan fucking up his body, cutting himself, breaking bones...once he even lost all his limbs, Kakuzu had to first search for them in the battle field, and then stitch them back on. But this...this was unreal. He had never heard of villages punishing their people so bad. His village would never have given any sort of punishment as severe as this.

Itachi was thinking of the brutal treatment too as he was cleaning Deidara. He moved down to clean his legs and felt a sudden dizziness come on. His head felt light and his stomach felt sick for the first time since the massacre of his clan. He didnt think any of the other's noticed, they were to busy looking at his hands and eye but Itachi had saw it in the forest. The white seman and blood trailing down his leg, giving it an almost shimmery look.

He looked up at both Kakuzu and Konan, they were both working away in silence, Konan concentrating hard on healing bones on his chest and Kakuzu looked like he was starting on Deidara's eye. He then looked back down at Deidara's leg, and gently lifted his cloak a little.

He looked away almost immediately seeing all the damage. He took a deep breath again and gently started cleaning all of the substances off of Deidara. He hoped he wasn't being too obvious in front of Kakuzu and Konan but from the look of it they were busy.

When he had most of his cleaned off he saw the exact amount of damage done to Deidara. And was afraid of having to do the next step...telling them.

'Erm g-guys...'Itachi begun, he had never stuttered before in his life, but he could not help it now, 'I think I should tell you something...'

Kakuzu and Konan both looked up at Itachi.

'Erm...maybe...maybe you should get the leader too, it's quite important!'

Kakuzu and Konan looked at each other confused, before Konan fetched the leader.

When Pain entered, he looked at Deidara to Itachi a hint of concern in his eyes.

'What is it? How is he doing?'

'He's doing okay...we think he will make it through but...'

The all waited in silence, to hear what Itachi had to say. Itachi hesitated; there was no easy way to say this.

'But... his injuries are a lot more serious that you's think.'

The still waited on him to continue.

'...from what I've seen he's been abused...sexually.'

The whole room was silent. Finally Pain spoke up.

'You're sure of this?' before Itachi could speak Zetsu rose up out of the ground in the middle of them.

'Zetsu, what are you—' Pain begun, but Zetsu cut in

'Itachi's right, back when I went to get you's, I left Deidara at the temple, where I heard the Tsuchikage was gonna...r-rape him.'

'The Tsuchikage?' Konan said shocked.

'Zetsu? You're only telling me this now?' Pain asked just as shocked.

'No...I was gonna tell you, when I got to the base, but everyone was there, I couldn't say it.' The white side said.

'**but he was being abused, that's why we rushed back to the base to get you all' **the black side added.

Konan and Kakuzu stood shocked, Pain looked towards Deidara thinking.

'okay...okay...who else knows?'

'Nobody...'Itachi said.

'the lets keep it that way, we have to respect Deidara's feeling's on this, if he wants to tell any of us later, that's up to him, agreed?'

'Agreed.' The all said back.

Sasori woke up that night around 5 in the night; it had been 7 hours since he fell asleep. He got out of bed and looked out his door. All the hallways were empty. He walked around the base until he came to the room where Deidara was. He couldn't feel any of the other's charka, were they all back in their beds? He peaked in and saw the room was empty apart from Deidara. The rest must have finally left. Sasori walked in slowly, closing the door behind him.

He started at Deidara lying on the table. All his wounds were bandaged, his hands were covered in thick cloth, his eye was wrapped heavily with cloth around his head, yet there was blood already seeping through it, and there was tubes sticking out of him everywhere.

The only sound in the room was the beeping of the machine showing Deidara's heart beat, and Deidara's soft breathing, that was very quiet and very harsh. Sasori moved closer to Deidara until he was standing right above him. He didn't know how he felt at the moment.

Sasori's auburn eyes bored into Deidara's frail, fragile little body hooked up to machines. The room was completely dark being underground in a cave, but a shimmer of artificial light from a small lamp shown on above Deidara making his skin almost glow in the dark.

For a moment Sasori though he looked beautiful, almost like a puppet; still... quiet, only made of diamond or ice instead of wood. Even his blood soaked hair couldn't distract Sasori from the beauty in his pale, death like skin.

As Sasori stared at Deidara, alone...just the two of them, he was reminded of the forest, when he first saw Deidara; how he had considered killing him. He squeezed the white pillow underneath Deidara, thinking how easy it could be to just smother him now. When everyone woke up in the morning they would think he just suffocated himself.

But why would he do that? As he stood here he was starting to forget why he hated the brat so much...why was it that he wished him dead again?...why did he act like this in front of Itachi and Hidan? He looked down at Deidara and found it impossible to hate him...after all Deidara had never done anything to him.

Sasori watched as Deidara's chest rose and then fell again, his steady quiet breathing made Sasori ashamed that he acted so cruelly to Deidara, Sasori had hated his village...knew what it felt like to be rejected by them, and now he had wished his kid dead, simply because he didn't want to have a partner, was he any better than the bastards that did this to him?

Suddenly Deidara's breathing became stricken, and he gasped and spluttered, blood seeping out of his mouth. Sasori's eyes widened in panic, he panicked for a split second, what should he do? He could rush and get somebody, Itachi...Konan, anybody, but it was too late, Deidara was heaving, gagging, choking on his own blood.

Sasori hesitated, Deidara struggled violently, rocking on the table, his lungs were crashing, and he was gasping for air.

Sasori quickly removed the pipes and oxygen mask covering his mouth and bend down bringing his lips to Deidara's. He opened his mouth and breathed heavily into Deidara's, he took another long breath and released it again, Deidara still struggled, his eye widened, rasping for air, focusing on the figure in front of him...the same fire red blur he saw in the forest, Sasori breathed harder, in and out, again and again and again until Deidara began to relax, his breathing returning to normal.

Sasori released his mouth, bending back up straight. He looked at the heart monitor and was relieved that it was back to normal. Deidara's strained to look at Sasori before closing. The room went dead silent again. Sasori tasted blood in his mouth, Deidara's blood; he trailed a hand up to his lips, and felt the blood on them. He wiped it off slowly before looking back down at Deidara.

He could not believe what he had done, did he just save the brat he was gonna kill earlier? What if he wasn't there to do it, would they have woken up to find the kid dead on the table. Was it fate that woke him up at 5 in the morning? Sasori took in the sight of Deidara, and watched him breath for a while longer. Were the destined to be partners?

No...Sasori didn't believe in fate, or destiny...and he knew when he woke up in the morning he would forget this whole thing, and go back to his normal cold self. But still he stood a little while longer, watching Deidara breath, feeling a strange fullness that replaced his usual empty hollow chest, the hollowness that made his puppet body fell truly dead. Deidara's soft breaths gave him feeling in his chest. _Was there such a thing as destiny?_ How strange it was that Deidara's breathing gave _him_ life.

So, does it look like Deidara made it? And did Sasori actually show a slight bit of heart inside? Or will he remain as cold as ever?

**...**

_Thank you all for waiting, as my review from __**M.S**__ says "It has been a mo-onth"!_

_I'm sorry I can understand, I hate when fics I'm reading take aaages to update, now I Realise I do that too so I'm sorry._

_Anyway I hope you liked the chapter, and I hope it's going in the direction you all want, I dont know if I believe in destiny, but sometimes little things happen to me to make me think that maybe it is real. If you have any idea's or thoughts you think I should have to make the story better please get in contact with me!_

_Also thanks for all your reviews, there is now 81 and it helps me write to know people are actually reading it and even more sticking with it every chapter. My worse fear is that nobody is reading it and I'm just kidding myself about this story!hehe_

_I'm working on the next chapter, and I'll post it up as soon as I can!_

_See you then,_

_Ninjashallow_


	10. Chapter 11 New Partners

Chapter 11 New Partners

The next morning Sasori woke up lying on his work desk. His eye's took a moment t adjust to the dark room, since there was no natural light. He got up, rubbing his eyes groggily. His joints were stiff and rusty, and he felt tired. Why had he fallen asleep on the table? Sasori though for a moment before it all came back to him. He remembered going to the brat's room's last night, and staying for a while. Then he came back, and was too distracted to sleep so he worked on some of his poisons.

He grabbed his cloak and flung it round his shoulder and left the room heading for the kitchen. He had no idea what time it was. It was always hard to tell, because there was never any natural light; the Akatsuki base was always dark since it was underground.

He opened the door to see Hidan and Kisame sitting at the table talking. They both turned their heads when he walked in.

'well good morning sleeping beauty!' Hidan smirked looking at Sasori. 'you look like shit, didn't you sleep last night?' Sasori ignored Hidan and reached for the coffee straight away.

'what time is it?' he responded pouring his coffee.

'Half twelve,'Kisame replied, taking a gulp of his own. Sasori's eyes widened, he rarely slept in this late, unless he did a mission the night before.

'Shouldn't you be on missions?' Sasori asked raising an eyebrow, he was sure the leader had a mission assigned for Hidan and Kakuzu to get a bounty from the land of fire.

'Na, the leader cancelled all missions for a few days, just until the kid wakes up, fucking sweet, I could get use to this!' Hidan said putting his feet up. Sasori highly doubted Hidan could go for long without missions, who would he sacrifice to his god then? A few moments passed in silence before Kisame spoke.

'Aren't you gonna ask how Deidara is?' Sasori looked at Kisame with dead panned eyes.

'...how is the brat?' he finally said, though showing no interest in the answer.

'he's doing good, Itachi and Kakuzu is up there now with him, apparently he had a breathing problem last night, but overcome it, there was a lot of blood on his mouth, Pain was angry; he knew somebody should have stayed with him all night in his condition.'

Sasori made no expression on his face from the news. And no way was he gonna tell them that he was with the brat last night.

'Were is the leader? I want to tell him I'm going on my missions...'

'You can't, leader said there cancelled...'

'I am not sitting in this base all day doing nothing, I have no need to stay here, I can do my missions!' Sasori replied coldly.

'Nobody is doing any missions Sasori,' Pain's voice suddenly said as he appeared at the door, 'not until Deidara is conscious, and even then your missions will be cancelled, in order to train your new partner...' he said simply. Sasori's eye's flashed angrily, and he spun his head around a full 180 degrees to face the leader;

'WHAT?' Sasori demanded, standing up quickly.

'You heard me Sasori,' Pain said dryly. Sasori hoped he was joking, there was no way Deidara was going to be his partner. he went back to drinking his coffee, ignoring Pain and the other two.

Deidara's eyes fluttered open slowly. Straight away he felt a soreing pain in his eye and hands. He felt nauseas, and dizzy. Sounds drifted into his ear, soft mumbling that Deidara couldn't figure out, He turned his head a little to the source of noise and groaned loudly.

'Itachi, he...hes awake!' a low gruff sound said. Deidara heard shuffling and soft footsteps.

'Deidara...Deidara can you hear me, get the leader straight away?' the deep monotone voice said next. Deidara heard loud steps stomp out of the room and echo a little further. He felt a cold hand touch his forehead, but he couldn't make out who it was. It looked like a blackish blur, with red patched. The figure moved closer to him, and seemed to be repeating something again and again.

Itachi's cool hand cupped Deidara's face, it felt hot and sticky and Itachi noticed that his eyes were fazing in and out.

'Deidara...Deidara...'he said again, a little more loudly this time. It looked like Deidara was trying to make him out, his un-bandaged eye focused on him again, his bandaged hand gripped the white sheets tightly and moved closer, then Itachi understood. Deidara was trying to reach out to touch him.

Itachi gripped Deidara's hand and brought it to his Akatsuki cloak, and Deidara's eyes suddenly responded, now that he knew Itachi was there. His eye's found Itachi's and then after a few minutes scanned the room, trying to figure out where he was.

Pain then entered the room, followed by Kakuzu, and Konan. Kisame and Hidan peeped through the door, trying to see, and Sasori waited in the hall way, with his arms folded.

'He's awake?' Pain question, moving closer. Itachi nodded, letting go of Deidara's hand to make space for him. Pain looked down at Deidara with cold unblinking eyes. Deidara seemed a little fazed when Itachi took his hand away. His eye's tried to focus on the new figure in front of him. A brilliant orange blur. Deidara though for a moment that it was the same bright blur he saw twice before, but this one was not red, it was orange. Konan looked down over Pain's shoulder and Deidara now saw a blue blur next to the orange one.

'What's wrong with him? He doesn't seem to see us properly!' Pain asked turning to Itachi.

'I think his eye is just blurred, he may be having a little trouble since he can only use one eye.'

'But can he hear us, does he know what we are saying?'

'I don't know...I think he's still a little disoriented' Itachi replied smoothly. Hidan was standing on his tiptoes, trying desperately to see what was going on.

'What can you see? Is the kid awake?' Kisame asked eagerly.

'I...I can't fucking see,' Hidan said angrily. 'Fuck this I'm going in!' he said bursting in through the door and pushing past the others. Kisame followed.

Hidan leaned over, pushing Konan and the leader out of the way,

'Let me see,' he stared down at Deidara, and waved a hand in front of him trying to get his attention. Deidara's eyes didn't respond very well, not even when Kisame leaned over him too, all Deidara could see was a great blue blur.

'All right that enough, we might be confusing him,' Pain said.

Sasori stood out in the hallway, listening to the others. He didn't know what to feel. Last night he saved the kids life, and now that brat was awake...should he be happy? He decided to walk into the room. The other's looked around and gave him space to go to Deidara.

Sasori leaned over the table and looked down with emotionless brown eyes. Deidara saw the new flash of red he was familiar with, and straight away he responded, his wide blue eye catching Sasori's and he reached his hand out a little.

The others looked surprised. Sasori was the only one he responded to. Sasori looked at Deidara out stretched hand with cold eye's, and felt he could not take it...not in front of the rest of the members. It would be just a weak action. Deidara's hand stretched further, wanting the red blur to respond to him.

'He's reaching for you.' Itachi said.

'Sasori, take it...'Konan said softly. Sasori bit it lip. He did not want to such just affection in front of the others. But sighing loudly, he reached out a stiff joined index finger, and Deidara's small hand wrapped around it. Sasori could feel a little blood soaking through his bandage on his palm.

'Look...he seems to know you Sasori,' Kisame said smiling.

'Yeah, that's fucking weird...you think if any of us, he would recognise Kisame, since he carried Deidara back to the base, not to mention the fact that he's fucking blue!'Hidan said.

'It will probably take a few hours for him to fully adjust to what's going on...I'm not sure if we should wear our cloaks, otherwise he will recognise us immediately.' Kakuzu said seriously.

'Fine, Kakuzu keep regular check up's on him, make sure his wounds are healing without infection, especially his hands, they are important. Sasori I want you to stay here with him, since he responds to you,'

'What? ' Sasori asked quickly, snapping his finger harshly away from Deidara's grasp. Pain ignored his Sasori and left, the others following him.

Once they were out in the hall way, Itachi turned to Kisame,

'what was Sasori doing all night, he looked exhausted!' he asked. Kisame shrugged, but Hidan piped up;

'he just said he didn't get much sleep last night!'

'hmmm...'

'why what is it Itachi?'

'well I was just thinking...Deidara convulsed last night, and could have died, but somehow got through it...do you think it's possible Sasori might have been there to help him?' Itachi asked somewhat sceptic. The other's stopped and started laughing.

'Oh come on Itachi, I know Sasori's our friend and all, but you can't deny he's an emotionless bastard, there's no way Sasori would do something like that for someone he just fucking met!' Hidan said.

'Hidan's right Itachi, Sasori's been against Deidara joining form the beginning, I don't think he would suddenly save him!' Kisame agreed, grinning. Itachi nodded, thinking it was possible true, Sasori was a very trustful member to have, but he would never save the life of anyone other than the Akatsuki members.

Hours past when Deidara eye suddenly fluttered open again, his vision was better, yet still a little blurred. He still felt weak, but the bones in his body was healing nicely, and the pain was relieved a lot since he woke up. He didn't know where he was. He felt tubes stuck into him, and though for a moment he may be in a hospital, but it looked way to dark to be one.

Deidara tried to move, but pain shot up his back and he hissed loudly, alerting Sasori attention.

'You finally awake brat?' Sasori's monotone voice asked coldly.

'wha...where...a-am I un?' Deidara moaned, turning his head around to Sasori's voice. Sasori ignored his question, getting up from his seat and leaning over him, staring at his blue hazy eye. Deidara stared back weakly, even his voice was fragile.

'who...are...y-you?' Deidara asked weakly, his voice came out in soft wasps, sounding a little curdled from the blood clot in his nose and mouth. Sasori leaned down and roughly pulled the wires out of Deidara's veins. Deidara hissed, as a squirt of blood spilled out. The nauseous feeling was getting worse, he felt like he was gonna throw up.

There was silence again, and then Deidara tried talking again;

'wha...what...happened un?'

Sasori didn't know what to say, he stood in silence looking down at Deidara, who stared back up at him waiting for some answer, Deidara looked around weakly again, taking in the room he was in before turning his eye back to Sasori. He didn't know who this man was, or why he wasn't saying anything, Sasori just stared back, he should have called the others by now, but for the moment he liked the peace and quietness.

'...your name is Deidara correct?' Sasori asked quickly. Deidara was surprised by his sudden question, but nodded weakly. He attempted to move again, but only resulted in moaning in pain.

'Don't move.' Sasori snapped. 'Your bones are healing accurately, if you move too much you will damage them!'

Deidara obeyed, staying still in his bed. Sasori sighed and put his hand to Deidara's head, feeling his temperature, Deidara shivered at the cold contact. He stared at the man, and felt he looked familiar. He was sure he had seen him somewhere, like in a book or something. He had brilliant fire red hair and it suddenly dawned on Deidara that he was the red blur he had seen in the forest and last night.

'you...y-you were in t-the f-forest...' Deidara said weakly. Sasori looked up but didn't say anything. The brat actually remembered him.

'I'm going to get the others, you stay here and don't move, Understand brat?' Sasori said coldly before getting up and leaving the room. Deidara was left surprised by his sudden departure. He tried his best to recognise where he was. The room was dark; the walls looked like he was underground.

That man had said he was going to get others...was there more people, who where they, and what did they want? Maybe they were guards from the rock village, and were gonna kill him. Before he had time to do anything, sudden movement came through the door, and Deidara was staring at the faces of people in black and red cloaks. They were all strange looking, one man with bright orange hair, a girl with blue hair, and a tall man with blue skin and razor sharp teeth, there was more but Deidara found it difficult to make them out.

'Deidara your awake...' a tall man with orange hair and piercing said. Deidara shifted nervously in his bed, fear raising up in him. He could fell strong charka coming from them all...stronger that any he had ever felt before.

'has he said anything?' a young man with long black hair asked the man with fiery red hair.

'yes, he asked where he was and who I was, I thought it would be better for leader to explain to him.' Sasori replied, staring at the blond.

'Yes very well,' he walked closer to Deidara and leaned over him.

'Deidara, you are underground, approximately 15miles from your hometown, and I am Pain, the leader of the Organisation, The Akatsuki!' he said bluntly.

Deidara's eyes widened in fear and shock, he got up quickly and fell crashing down to the ground, screaming in pain.

'Deidara...' Itachi took a step forward concerned, but the leader held a hand up stopping him.

'are...are...are you...y-you g-going to k-kill m-me un?' Deidara stuttered, scrambling away from them.

'Why would we go to the bother of saving you if we were just going to kill you afterwards?' Sasori snapped angrily. The leader told him to be silent and turned back to face Deidara, who was down on the ground, hissing in pain, and backing as far away from them as he could.

'Deidara, here before you are members of the Akatsuki, and the purpose of you being here, is to join them and I, in our Organisation...you will serve as a fully fledged member, helping us on our goal of world domination!'

'A-Akatsuki...?' Deidara repeated, to afraid to move.

'Yes Deidara, we brought you here to join us, we have been watching you for quite a long time back in your home village.'

'So...so you not here to k-kill m-me un?' Deidara stuttered.

'No...' Pain replied simply, 'your skills and unusual talent are of value to our organisation, and thus we wish you to join...'

Deidara stared at them in disbelief. The rest of the members stared down at him, waiting to see what he would do.

'you...you want m-me to...to j-join you?' Deidara repeated, making sure he heard right.

'Yes' Pain replied, 'we believe your village no longer have any use for you, considering the condition we found you in, be warned that when joining the Akatsuki, you discard all loyalty associated with your village, and swear your allegiance and devotion to us instead, in return we offer you protection and power above any other allegiance in this world...what do you say, will you join us?'

The room went silent, waiting to hear what he would say. Deidara thought of what he said, this was the Akatsuki, and the wanted him to join them. He knew what the Akatsuki was, a criminal organisation, who was hated and feared by all the villages. But they had power, they were the most feared ninja on the earth, and now here they were asking Deidara to join them.

'y-y-yes...I'll j-join you un...' Deidara stuttered breathlessly. The others breathed a sigh of relief; they knew it would get ugly if he refused to join. The smiled at each other, but Sasori stared at the blond kid with a mixture of dislike and anger. This brat was seriously going to be an Akatsuki member?

'Yes is not enough, you must put a slash across the symbol on your headband.' Pain said coldly, his Rinnegan boring down on Deidara's blue eyes. Pain snapped his fingers and Konan immedienlty handed him Deidara's head band. Pain gave the headband to Deidara, along with a sharp kunai.

Deidara took it in his hand, there was still blood stains on it from the other night in the forest. The memories came flooding back to him, the beating, the rape, the cruelty of his father and village. He gripped the kunai tightly in his hands, as a tear threatened to spill. He took one look back up at the members, who stared at him eagerly, before digging a deep long slash across the symbol of the rock village, savouring the rush of pleasure of destroying his head band.

Pain smiled satisfied, gently taking the blade back from Deidara, who flinched; still fearing him. He smiled a little before turning to Itachi.

'Itachi, help Deidara back up in the bed...'Pain ordered. Itachi nodded and walked gracefully over to Deidara, who flinched again, backing away in horror.

'I-Itachi U-Uchiha?' Deidara stuttered gazing up at him in fear. He had heard about Itachi of course. Every Ninja had, Itachi was the missing ninja who had slaughtered his entire Clan.

'Yes Deidara, It's a pleasure to meet you...'Itachi said smoothly, almost friendly. He was use to this reaction when people saw him for the first time, he got it everywhere he went, but he didn't what Deidara to fear him too, not now that he has joined the group.

Itachi gently put his arms under Deidara and heaved him to his feet. Deidara winced in severe pain, and Itachi notice that blood was dripping from his clothing between his legs. He carefully put him on the bed, wrapping the sheets around him. Not that Deidara thought of it, he was in a room surrounded by S-Rank criminals, some he had heard horrible stories of.

He glanced around, trying to figure out who they were, he only knew names assioated with the Akatsuki, but he couldn't put faces to them. Pain seemed to reach Deidara's mind, as he suddenly spoke, making Deidara slightly.

'Not that you have met Itachi, Allow me to introduce the rest of the Akatsuki;' he said seriously, turning to the group, Deidara's eye followed him nervously.

'This is Itachi's Partner, Kisame Hoshigaki a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure.' Deidara looked in is direction, and Kisame grinned, showing his razor sharp teeth. Deidara's eyes widened in shock. This man had blue skin and looked like a shark. He was also holding a huge sword behind his back.

'Hey kid, I carried you here, glad to see you made it through!' Kisame said, grinning at Deidara.

'Standing next to me is Konan, she is my Partner and is from the Rain village, as am I...' he said swiftly. Deidara looked at her anxiously, and felt a little calmer when she smiled back politely.

'Hello Deidara, nice to meet you.' She said.

'Next to Konan, is Kakuzu from Takigakure, and his partner Hidan from Yugakure...' Pain said dryly pointing to them. Kakuzu nodded, in a somewhat of a friendly gesture, and Hidan smirked, folding his arms. The Man with the green eyes and white head cover was terrifying looking and the other silvered haired man had a huge red scythe behind his back.

'Hey Kiddo, better not fuck with us, were the meanest pair here!' Hidan said grinning. Deidara's eye widened considerably in fear.

'Hidan, not now!' the leader snapped. Kakuzu slapped him on the head, making Hidan curse loudly.

'Ouch, Oh come on, I'm just fucking with him,' Hidan said rubbing his head and turning to Deidara, 'were fine really kid!'

Deidara still stared at him in fear. He didn't know what to think. He had diffidently heard of them two, but had no idea what they did to become Rouge Ninja's or what Power they had. But before he had time to register what Hidan said, the leader spoke again, abruptly as though not wanting to be interrupted again.

'Next to Hidan is Zetsu, who functions as the organization's spy. His place of origin is known to none but me.' Pain said. Deidara looked at Zetsu and was shocked when two voice's spoke back;

'Hello Deidara.'

'**How do you do?**'

Deidara looked at the leader for some kind of explanation, but he didn't give any. Deidara assumed Zetsu must have two personalities.

'And finally, the last one is Sasori Akasuna, also known by his Village as—'

'—S-Sasori of t-the r-red s-sand un!' Deidara finished Pain's sentence, staring at the red heard in horror.

Sasori made no greeting or gesture, he simply stared coldly back at Deidara, with brown eyes burning into Deidara's. Sasori had no interest in saying anything to the brat, and he was of course not at all surprised the brat knew his name. Deidara's fear was written on his face, giving Sasori a brief moment of satisfaction.

Deidara knew of Sasori, he was just as infamous as Itachi, maybe even more; it was told that Sasori defeated an entire nation with his puppetry skills. The others waited for Sasori to say something, a hello, a smile...even a nod to acknowledge his new partner, but Sasori did nothing but stare dagger's at Deidara. Out of all of the members Sasori behaved like a cold S-Ranked missing ninja Deidara expected. Pain gave up, rolling his eyes, and continued;

'from your reaction, I'm sure you are familiar with some of these members, and their ability, and what you don't know, you will learn eventually...we don't keep many secrets in this organisation, we don't have any family or friends, so we make the best with what we have left. In this organisation you must treat your fellow members with respect, much like you did at your home village. In return they will respect you.'Pain said smoothly.

Deidara nodded, wondering if he would get a partner. He remembered in class how nobody wanted to sit beside him or be his partner while training. Would the Akatsuki be disgusted with his hands? He suddenly realised the leader had continued speaking again;

'Also each member has a partner, a person who they are sent to on missions, that partner will become your second half, you share the same room, eat together, and most importantly you are send on missions together. Your partner helps you in battle, balancing out your weakness, making your teamwork strong, because never forget Deidara, we are a criminal organisation, and every village across the world knows of us and wants us arrested or dead. When you go out in the public, you will be recognised immediately, a lot of the village will want to just stay out of your way, but Chūnin, Jōnin and especially ANBUwill be out to kill you!' he said seriously.

Deidara felt a tremor of fear shoot through him. He knew how much his village was after the Akatsuki, along with all the other villages. And it suddenly dawned on him that he would now be a part of the Akatsuki, recognised by the whole world as Deidara; that though made him feel queasy and he held his stomach uncomfortably.

Pain seemed to notice this as he quickly said 'That is all for now Deidara, you need more rest, your wounds need to heal up properly before you begin training.'

Deidara nodded nervously, lying back down on the bed. Itachi reached over to him and put the wires back into his skin, pumping blood to his veins.

'Deidara, your injuries are healing reasonably, but please try not to do too much movement, Kakuzu's stitching will come loose and reopen the wounds...' Itachi said smoothly. Deidara nodded, he had no idea what Itachi meant by "Kakuzu's Stitching" but right now it didn't matter. Itachi's hands were gentle and cool on Deidara's flesh, as he examined his wounds. Deidara started to feel more at ease around Itachi.

'T-thanks I-Itachi-san un' Deidara mumbled meekly. Itachi raised his head and smiled warmly back at Deidara. He was happy Deidara was beginning to talk.

Sasori watched the scene impatiently; he had work to do and did not want to stand around watching this brat.

'Leader-san, may we go now? I have considerable amounts of work to do,' Sasori said in a bored tone.

'Very well,' Pain said in a tired voice. Sasori was out the door as soon as Pain finished his sentence, without a single look to Deidara or the rest of the group. He would have though by now Sasori would show some sign of acceptance for his new team mate and partner. He wondered when would be the best time to break the news to him; that Deidara will be his partner, but decided it could wait until this evening.

The rest of the group filled out afterwards, Itachi stayed back sitting next to Deidara as he fell asleep from exhaustion. His headband was still gripped tightly in his hand, with a new deep slash across the rock symbol.

'Hey Itachi, are you coming?' Kisame asked, as the others left.

'No...I think I will stay here a while longer.' Itachi said monotonously, looking at Deidara's sleeping form. Kisame nodded, sitting down next to him.

'Does he remind you of—'

'—Sasuke...yes.'

'oh...'

'he is around the same age as Sasuke...thirteen...same age as me when I left him...'

'Itachi...you shouldn't think about that, I'm sure he's doing fine...your brother.' Kisame said putting a hand on Itachi's shoulder.

'Yes, I know...I just...when I see what happened to Deidara, I felt worried, that maybe I left Sasuke in the wrong hands...what if Konoha treated Sasuke like Iwagakure treated Deidara?'

'Konoha is not like that Itachi, it's a peaceful village...Deidara's treatment was cruel...but he came from a different village who doesn't share the same moral values as yours or even my village did...he was just unlucky I guess...'Kisame trailed off, looking sadly down at Deidara sleeping form.

'Kisame, there is something I have been forbidden to tell you from Pain, but...since your my partner I know I can trust that you won't say anything...' Kisame nodded waiting eagerly for Itachi to continue, 'Deidara's punishment wasn't only physical...he was sexually assaulted too.'

Kisame looked at Itachi with a mixture of shock and disgust, before looking at Deidara with pity.

'Why did you tell me then?' Kisame asked.

'I don't know...maybe so you will understand the seriousness of the treatment shinobi gave to him, I joined Akatsuki with the idea of ideology and peace. I don't understand how a village that is supposed to protect their people could have done this...'

Kisame felt helpless, he knew Itachi was have less and less hope for the idea of peace in this world, especially when cruel things like this happened to Deidara.

'its okay Itachi, Deidara has us now, when he's fully trained he will never suffer at any hands of abuse again.' He said in an uplifting voice.

The rest of the day was spend with Sasori shut up in his room, working on puppets. He was absorbed in his work before he heard a loud knock on the door making breaking his concentration. Fuming he put his puppet aside and said 'Enter...'

The door burst open, Hidan walking casually in with Kakuzu behind him.

'What do you two want?' Sasori said at once.

'The leader wants you...'Kakuzu replied. Hidan walked around Sasori's room looking at the different objects.

'Now? Cant it wait?' Sasori said annoyed. Kakuzu looked at him seriously before replying;

'No...It's past 7, Deidara has woken up again, so the leader wants to disuse your arrangements...'

'What arrangements?' Sasori said at once, he looked over to Hidan who had picked up a small vile with purple liquid. 'Don't touch that, it's extremely dangerous!'Sasori snapped, using his blue glowing charka strings to snatch the vile out of Hidan's hands.

'ha cant you guess? I hope you have enjoyed having this big bed all to yourself because the leader's shacking Deidara in with you now!' Hidan smirked, enjoying Sasori's alarmed reaction.

'WHAT?' Sasori said at once.

'You better start fluffing up your pillows for your new guest; he will be sleeping in with you tonight!' Hidan said gleefully.

'Absolutely not, now get out of my room!' Sasori said angrily turning on his puppets.

'god, how long to you spend cooped up in the dark, working on these fucking puppets?' Hidan said, inspecting a rusty broken one hanging on the wall.

'I thought I just told you to leave me in peace?' Sasori said getting impatient. Hidan ignored him, glancing around the walls, looking at all the puppet creations in the making.

'God...these puppets are hideous!' he said.

'I do not make them to look pretty,' Sasori snapped, 'their function is to be deadly when it comes to battle!'

'yeah but couldn't you have given them a better face? I mean look at this one, it's got no fucking nose!' Hidan said.

'that once is laced in Poison, so I suggest you do not touch it!' Sasori said frowning.

'Enough of this chatter, Hidan lets go, Sasori the leader expects you in the living room at once!' Kakuzu said sharply. Hidan made a horrid face at another puppet before smirking to Sasori and following Kakuzu out the door. Sasori sighed loudly, placing his cloak around his shoulder and followed them out the room.

When he reached the living room, he saw at once that Deidara was standing, with a crouch, covered in freshly new bandages beside Itachi and the leader. He noticed Deidara's hair was newly washed, all the blood gone making it a shiny honey gold colour. Over all he looked a lot better than when they found him, Out of habit they all stood in a circle on the spot the rings on their fingers are.

Sasori eyed Deidara coldly before glancing to the leader as he spoke.

'Tomorrow you missions will resume. Itachi, Kisame I want you to go to Konoha, on search for the nine tailed fox, I believe his name is Naruto Uzumaki.'

Itachi seemed to stiffen as he was told to go to his hometown, but he nodded obediently. Kisame wielded his sword grinning, excited for the new mission.

'Get plenty of rest tonight, and be on guard tomorrow, you know the demon fox boy will be heavily guarded by his sensei and other shinobi of that village.'

Deidara stared at all the members with his one eye. He still didn't have the bandage of his other damaged eye, but the pain had lessoned whatever medical treatment they gave him was helping. All the members so far had been reasonable friendly to him, well...the didn't try to kill him yet anyway, but Sasori of the red sand had not been as nice, in fact the red head had barely spoke two words to him, and anytime he glanced at Sasori, he received a cold, chilling stare back.

'Zetsu can you please keep an eye on Orochimaru, I believe he was last spotted in the forest of death where academy students are taking their Chunin exams.'

Deidara remembered he was never given the chance to take his Chunin exam, the village though it was too dangerous to allow Deidara to rank up with his abilities. He smiled slightly thinking how ironic it was that he was now in the Akatsuki, known to be the highest S-Ranking Ninja's in the world.

'Hidan and Kakuzu, I was gonna send you to both to the land of Lighting, but Hidan you will have to go alone, I need Kakuzu to experiment, with the help from Sasori, to make a substitute eye to improve Deidara's eyesight.'

Deidara got nervous as his name was mentioned by the leader, and all eyes fell on him.

'are you cancelling my mission to the land of sound?' Sasori said coldly.

'Yes, for the time being...you will no longer have missions, in order to train your new partner.' Pain said bluntly. The whole room went silent. Deidara's eye widened, glancing in disbelief at the leader.

'What?' both Sasori and Deidara said at the same time. Deidara saying it in disbelief, while Sasori's tone was more outraged.

'you both have been formally introduced this morning, Deidara Sasori will be your partner, and mentor, teaching you, with help from us, everything you need to know about battle strategies and power.

'WHAT?' Sasori repeated angrily. Pain ignored him and continued,

'from what I have seen you were top of your class, and we purposely chose you, so with the abilities you already have combined with our teaching and training, you will be fit to take on missions with ease.'

Deidara looked at Sasori in shock. He was gonna be partnered with the infamous Sasori of the red sand? This was unreal. Sasori eye's flared with anger, and his charka started creating waves of hostility.

'No.' Sasori stated abruptly. All eyes of the group turned on him questionably. Pain raised an eyebrow.

'Excuse me?'

'I said No.' Sasori repeated, a look of resentment and coldness etched his smooth pale face.

'Sasori, there is no discussion, you simply do not have a—'

'— I refuse!' Sasori cut in. Deidara stared at Sasori along with the others, nervously fidgeting with his cloak.

'Sasori I'm not in the mood for this, Deidara is your partner and that is final!'

'I said I refuse! I refuse to have some childish brat be my partner! It's insulting!' Sasori said angrily, glaring at the leader.

'Sasori, don't to this, give him a chance—'

'Shut up Itachi, it's easy for you to say, your partner is Kisame, an actually feared missing nin with actual abilities, all I had was Orochimaru, a disgusting child molester, and now this; a childish brat who blows up stupid clay, its degrading, I refuse!' Sasori said angrily.

Deidara bowed his head down sadly; he knew he didn't belong here. He felt so embarrassed to even be in the presence of Sasori and the others. The voices of them arguing faded out to Deidara as he felt a burning shame inside him. He wasn't wanted in his family, his village, and now he wasn't wanted here.

He knew it was too good to be true. That he was actually sought out by them to join. Nobody had ever wanted anything to do with him. And when he read about the Akatsuki even though he feared them he respected them, and now they had found him, lying in a forest, beaten and weak, and raped, although he doubted they knew that. How pathetic...he had for a second though Sasori was the red blur he remembered waking up to...but it couldn't have possibly been him, the red blur saved him, but Sasori was cold and hateful towards him, since the moment he woke up.

He drifted back into the voices in the room and heard;

'I don't care Hidan! You switch with me then, and have the brat for a partner, while I have Kakuzu, then we will see if you still feel the same!'

'Nobody is switching with anyone Sasori,' Pain said seriously. Deidara stared at the ground, his newly washed blond hair falling over his eye. He wished he could just fade into the wall and be invisible. All this arguing over him...he wished the leader would just let Sasori have his way, if he really didn't want Deidara that bad.

'Leader, I'm insulted, you must think low of my puppet abilities if you had even considered partnering me with this brat!' Sasori said pointing to Deidara, who flinched, being called "brat" again.

'of course not Sasori , you know I do not hire anyone to this organisation who's abilities are not above standard—'

'—then why are you hiring him!' Sasori snapped.

'Fuck sake Sasori, you're the one acting like a childless brat!' Hidan shouted back.

'Yes Sasori, this is very immature behaviour,' Itachi said agreeing. Sasori's eyes flared and he activated his glowing blue puppet strings, Itachi activated his blood red Sharingan, Hidan gripped his scythe, all the other's couched in a fighting position.

'What, you gonna fight us all?' Hidan said smirking. Pain rubbed his temples in frustration. As he listened to Sasori and the others launch into another heated argument. He looked over at Deidara who was just standing there staring at his shoes, his long blond hair covering his face like a curtain.

'I can take any of you; I took down an entire Nation with—'

'—yeah yeah yeah, we fucking heard that story a million times'

'Sasori I do not wish to fight you, but you are acting unreasonable...'

'Itachi, I'm getting impatient, you don't respect my rights...'

'Fuck that, I'm in the mood for a fight, lets go!'

'THATS ENOUGH!' Pain said suddenly, ad all the members stopped at once. 'Sasori, I am warning you, the decision is final, whether you like it or not Deidara is your partner, and from tonight on he will share your room—' Deidara's eye widened, sharing a room with him? '—and train him to our standards! Do I make myself clear?' Pain demanded.

All eyes were on Sasori again. Itachi was frowning from the argument, Hidan was smirking loving the commotion and Pain was waiting for his answer. Sasori looked at Deidara one last time before stiffly nodding and turning away, eyes glaring at the floor.

Pain breathed a sigh of relief, 'now that that's sorted...' he rambled on, talking about missions, But Deidara wasn't listening; he was staring at Sasori with hurt, confused eyes. Why did Sasori not want him that much? Why was he so cold? Deidara knew he was a missing nin, and generally they were not considered "nice" people, but the others had made an effort, but Sasori still insisted his cold resentment.

'That is all, you may retire for the night...'Pain said before walking away. The whole room filled out gradually, Deidara and Sasori stood rooted to the spot. Itachi gave Sasori a intense glare before leaving.

'well good'night!' Hidan smirked, slapping Sasori playfully on the back. He though the whole thing was hilarious, and now Sasori had to share a bed with the kid. He was looking forward to hearing from him in the morning.

They all left until the room was empty, leaving only Sasori and Deidara. Sasori looked in Deidara's direction with cold auburn eyes. Deidara looked back at him nervously, and forced a weak smile on his face,

'...un...I-I...its nice to m-meet y-you Sasori un—'

'—you will address me as Sasori no Danna at all times, is that clear?' Sasori snapped back making Deidara flinch. Deidara nodded meekly, but Sasori cut in again, 'and you are to answer me properly, when I ask you something!'

'y-yes S-Sasori no danna un..' Deidara stuttered quickly. Sasori seemed satisfied, and a few moments passed in silence before he spoke again,

'I don't know why the leader thinks so much of you, I've have seen your technique and it is nothing special,' Deidara's eyes burned in resent and indignity, 'to add to that, your eyesight and damaged hands will be a problem, I do not be seen with weak people, and I do not waste my time and energy helping them and if these cause you problems I will leave you behind in battle to fend for yourself!' Sasori added coolly.

Deidara said nothing, looking at the ground. He was starting to think he had made a mistake joining them, maybe it would have been better if they had left him for dead.

'Have you forgotten how to speak?' Sasori said sarcastically. Deidara mumbled a 'No Sasori no danna un,' before his face was suddenly gripped hard and cupped upwards to meet Sasori's threatening eyes.

'you look at me when you speak, and stop with that irksome grunts you end your sentences with, it's irritating me!' Sasori said harshly.

'yes Sasori no danna u-u-u-u-uuunnn' Deidara tried to stop himself from saying it, but the word came out, he could help it. Sasori's eyes flared in annoyance, but he decided to let it go for now. It was late and he was getting tired.

'you should also know that I am a very impatient man, and I hate waiting, or keeping others waiting; should I ever find that you slow me down, or keep me waiting, I will leave you for dead!' Sasori said bluntly.

'yes Sasori no danna un' Deidara said, and slapped his hand across his mouth in horror after uttering the "un" word.

'Follow me!' Sasori said bluntly, before turning on his heel and heading out of the living room. Deidara quickly followed him, staying a few steps behind him out of caution. The base was so big and s dark, Deidara had no idea how they didn't get lost. Sasori lead them down a couple of dark hallways until they reached a small brown door. Deidara assumed this was Sasori's room as it had a kanji written on the door meaning Scorpion.

'Inside...' Sasori said, opening the door. Deidara crept inside cautiously, and almost tripped, the room was so dark, especially at night, that Deidara could see anything.

'Do not touch anything in this room!' Sasori ordered seriously, 'the workspace and bench is mine, thoese cuppords are locked with my materials, and the bathroom is in that door to the left.' Sasori said coldly. Deidara nodded, being careful not to touch anything, he was sometimes quite clumsy and didn't want to do anything to make Sasori angry-er.

Deidara stood in one spot, as still as he could waiting for instructions. He didn't know what Akatsuki members did when they were finish or off a mission. Sasori noticed Deidara standing and frowned irritated

'What is it brat?'

'urm..I...I'

'Spit it out, I'm very impatient!'

'I just need to u-use the b-bathroom un' Deidara said quickly. Sasori rolled his eyes and pointed in the direction, 'I said it was over there!' he snapped angrily. Deidara nodded and walked in the direction, but suddenly got his foot caught in an object and tripped over, crashing to the ground.

Sasori stood up at once and grabbed Deidara violently around the arm, yanking him up.

'I thought I told you not to touch anything!' Sasori shouted, raising his hand,

'I'm s-sorry S-Sasori no d-danna un, I-I c-couldn't s-see un!' Deidara explained quickly, flinching at rough grip Sasori had on his arm. Sasori saw him trembling, and his face was still bruised and battered, with his left eye covered in bandages.

Sasori lowered his hand, forgetting that it was dark and Deidara had only one eye. He roughly pushed Deidara back, and picked up the object he tripped over on, fortunately for the brat it wasn't damaged.

'Just hurry up and go to bed!' he snapped, pushing him in the direction of the bath room. After a few moments Deidara came back out, and looked cautiously at the floor, encase he tripped over another thing. Sasori sighed loudly; some ninja he was gonna make if he couldn't even see the floor in front of him. He would have to work something out with Kakuzu tomorrow about his missing eye, if the brat was gonna survive at least one mission.

Deidara made it back to the same spot, and fidgeted awkwardly with his robe. There was only one bed, and Deidara did not want to lay in it until Sasori instructed him.

'You will sleep at the far left corner of the bed, and should you invade my personal space in the middle of the night, I will force feed you one of my deadly poisons!' Sasori snapped, opening the covers to the bed. He climbed into bed and turned over facing the complete opposite direction of Deidara, who stumbled in nervously after him. Sasori was satisfied to see Deidara clung to the end of the bed as asked, leaving a huge gap in the middle of them.

There was silence from then on.

*5.30 in the morning*

Sasori's eyes fluttered open to the horrible dream he had about his village. He lingered a little longer, his eyes adjusting to the dark room and then closed them again trying to get back to sleep. A soft sniffing was heard beside him, and Sasori opened an eyelid listening carefully. Deidara was on the other side of the bed, and his little body shook gently as tears rolled down his cheek splashing on the pillow.

How did he get here? What was he gonna do now? He was afraid to move encase he woke the sleeping from of Sasori. But he couldn't stop the tears rolling down his face. He had wanted to cry ever since the beating he got in the forest. The whole situation had dawned on him, he had been disowned by his parents, his family, and abandoned and left for dead by his village.

Deidara couldn't believe it, with all that had happened since he didn't have time to think about it, but when he was alone now for the first time it all came back to him. What happened at the temple, in the forest...everything.

He remembered his mother, and how the Tsuchikage said she knew all along about the rapes, about selling her own son for money, the though cut him deeper than that kunai to his eye. Then after being raped again, they took him to the forest, cut off his hand tongues and eye, beat him and left him for dead.

Another wet splash of tears slipped down his bruised cheek and he tried to stop the trembling. Now he was in a room, with a member of the Akatsuki, who hated him already. Come to think of it he was in a base with the entire Akatsuki. He trembled more, trying to stop the tears from flowing.

Sasori listened in silence as Deidara quietly cried his heart out, the fragile figure beside him trembled with tears and Sasori lay there feeling guilt swell up in his heart container...he was actually feeling an emotion apart from anger, or disgust. He admitted he was pretty harsh with Deidara today, and didn't take his feelings into consideration. Of course the brat was upset, he was just beaten and abandoned left for dead. Sasori didn't think about that before at all... Now here he was at 5.30 in the morning crying his heart out because he thought Sasori was asleep.

But Sasori could not find it in his heart to comfort Deidara, to take him in his arms and lesson the pain and fear and confusion he was feeling, all he could do was stay put and listen to Deidara cry himself to sleep.

_YAY! They have finally met-and Deidara ended up crying. I'm sorry to all you Deidara fans, everything will eventually get better for him, you know I can't stand hurting him either! Im sorry if that was too long as well, I think it was like 7000 words or more!_

_But very important; in the next chapter, I'm afraid it will have to be a montage like of chapter, showing Deidara train hard and hard for months and months until he is good enough to be an Akatsuki member! It's the only way._

_Reply to Reviews;_

_Uchiha-dusk; I'm sorry, I hope this update was faster! Thanks for reading, Im so happy your following my story!_

_Sadisticxxqueenxx; haha yeah I am making Sasori out to be an idiot, but you will see why he doesn't like affection or company soon, he will be better to Deidara!(much better ^^)_

_Superfan8; cool, Thanks, its great to hear you love it!:D_

_M.S; hehe yeah I'm happy you understand, and hehe I like impatient people, they always remind me of Sasori!_

_Shadownin1010; thanks so much, it makes me write so much faster, when I read that you's are begging to read more haha, and yes I like Sasori when he is cold first because he is more in character, but yes he will soon warm up to Deidara!-who couldn't!_

_XSweetXSourXSoul; dont you want him to stay when Sasori gets nicer to him? I know hes kinda mean, but Deidara can stick it!_

_Tobifan66; yes Im sorry, I know how it feels too, and I noticed your name is Tobifan, I'm sorry to say I haven't yet planned how Tobi can be in the story when Sasori is too...I'm out of ideas._

_Blood drenched Scorpion; this was my favourite review because I didnt realise anyone would feel sorry for Sasori, after what happened to Deidara, but you did hehe. Yes you are so right. Im only making him like this now because I dont want him to straight away have feelings for Deidara, I think that would be so out of character (well...I guess him fancing Deidara is out of character anyway) but yeah I totally get what you mean, I love Sasori so I will try to be nicer to him!_

_Sakuya Izayoi__ thank you, Im very proud to have these reviews, and yes I'm sorry about the mistakes, but I dont know what or where a beta reader is...can you tell me? Also it dosent help that my English isn't that great!^^_

_Deisluv; no problem, hoped you liked it, I'll on the next one!_

_DeidarablondeFox; hehe dont be sorry for the fangirl of deidie moment, I love him so much I couldn't have possibaly killed him like that! Hehe fangirls are welcome here!_

_ONE MORE THING: OMG did you see the new Ulitmate Ninja storm game coming out in October? Sasori and Deidara is gonna be in it! along with most of the other Akatsuki members, I dont think it shows Itachi in the trailer, but hes in it. It looks sooo awesome!eeh cant wait._

_Thats it, thank you so much for the reviews, and talk to you again in the next chapter!_

_Ninjashallow_


	11. Chapter 12 Training Part 1

Chapter 12 Training Part 1

Deidara woke up that morning to the feel of the bed shirts being pulled forcefully off him. He sat up quickly, with a confused look on his face, having no idea where he was.

'Get up brat, and get dressed.' Came a sharp voice, helping Deidara remember everything now. He was in the Akatsuki base. Deidara rubbed his eyes tiredly, trying to function properly from being woken so suddenly. He was in the middle of stretching and yawning when blue glowing strings suddenly attached to his small body and dragged him swiftly of the bed making him cash to the hard floor.

'I am very impatient, so when I say get up, I mean NOW!' Sasori snapped. Deidara nodded quickly and went to reach for his clothes when Sasori suddenly spoke again;

'This is your new attire; you must were it at all times when in public.' He said throwing a black cloak with red clouds on Deidara's lap. Sasori stepped aside to allow Deidara to walk past him, expecting him to change in the bathroom, but to his horror he started stripping his clothes off in front of him.

He turned away blushing, giving Deidara some privacy. Deidara changed as quickly as possible, pulling the cloak over his head, and being careful of his still healing injuries. They had already gotten off to a bad start and he didn't want to keep Sasori waiting any longer.

'Follow me...' Sasori commanded, walking out the room. Deidara followed him at once, almost tripping over his long cloak.

They walked the long hallways in silence, Deidara staring around him curiously, taking in what the base looked like. It wasn't much, all the walls were caves and the air was cold and damp.

Finally Sasori reached the kitchen and walked in, not caring if Deidara was behind him or not. The kitchen was considerately brighter that the rest of the base, but still nothing you could call cosy. Deidara bit his lip and waited outside shyly. He could see lots of figures in cloaks sitting at the table, and was too nervous to walk in.

'Morning Sasori, where's the kid?' a sharp deep voice said.

'He's standing outside the door Kisame,' came Sasori's small, almost amused reply. Deidara gritted his teeth when he heard them laugh.

'Come on in kid, we won't bit ya,...well maybe Zetsu will!' said a loud, mocking voice being followed by sniggers from the rest of them. Deidara bit his lip tighter, and with as much confidence as he could muster, opened the door slowly. All the faces of the Akatsuki stared back at him.

'm-morning un' Deidara mumbled nervously. He jumped when a sudden laugh erupted from a man with gelled back silver hair.

'hahahahaha, did you hear that? "Un"...hahahaha' he laughed, making the other's laugh with him. Deidara suddenly got that he was mocking him, and his cheeks grew hot with embarrassment.

'Deidara, Hidan is just messing with you, how did you sleep?' the raven haired teen, Deidara knew to be Itachi asked cutting out the others laughter.

'uh...fine un' Deidara said, and then mentally kicked himself for saying un again, as they rest of the group started laughing.

'Well at least he made it through the night without Sasori killing him!' Hidan piped up again, looking at Sasori. Sasori looked down at his hot coffee, he had decided not to tell the rest of the group that Deidara had spend all night crying...it felt kind of personal to him, and it saved Deidara further embarrassment.

'Well are you just gonna fucking stand there?' Hidan said loudly making Deidara jump. His nerves were virbrating ever since he was told this was the Akatsuki base. He was expected to be killed at any moment.

'Sit down...' Kakuzu said seriously to Deidara, who looked at the table shyly. All the seats were one long plank attached to the table, and there was no space for him. He wanted to sit beside Sasori, since that was his partner and he should be able to trust him, but Sasori was very deliberately taking up the space, and his brown eyes clearly said "Not here brat".

Deidara walked a little over to the table where Itachi sat.

'Oh I wouldn't sit there kid, that psycho murdered his whole fucking clan...' Hidan said, trying to sound serious. Itachi gave him a dark look, but Deidara quickly moved, taking Hidan serious. He moved to Hidan, hoping to finally find a seat, but Hidan shook his head playfully

'I wouldn't sit here either, Kakuzu's a very jealous type and will fucking kill you!' Hidan said, almost unable to hide his laughter, playing with deidara's mind. Deidara didn't know why on earth Kakuzu would be jealous if he sat beside Hidan but he shrank back anyway, avoiding sitting beside him. Kakuzu rolled his eyes but didn't say anything letting Hidan have his fun.

Deidara looked helplessly at Sasori, who avoided his stare.

'Sit here kid...' came the gruff voice of the blue-skinned man known as Kisame, Deidara remembered. Deidara nodded and quickly walked over, avoiding any more attention brought on to him.

He sat in between Kisame and Itachi, right across from Sasori. Itachi handed him a bowl with rice and some kind of fish. Deidara mumbled thanks, and picked up his chopsticks with difficulty, since his hands were bandaged. He was about to put a piece to his mouth when suddenly Hidan spoke again;

'What the hell are you doing kid?'

'...wha...what?' Deidara said surprised.

'You're eating fish? How dare you, don't you know you will hurt Kisame's feelings?'

Deidara quickly dropped his chopsticks, looking wildly to Kisame.

'..I...I didn't know'

'Kisame I think you should fucking KILL him!' Hidan shouted from across the table. Deidara spun around quickly, looking horrified at Kisame.

'God dam it Hidan, will you knock it off, the kid is taking you serious!' Kakuzu snapped to Hidan, who burst out laughing.

'hahahaha you should have seen your face' Hidan said pointing and laughing at Deidara 'hahaahaha I'm just fucking with ya!'

The table starting laughing at Hidan's prank, even Kisame. Deidara nervously smiled, not knowing whether he felt shocked or relieved.

'Do not take Hidan's words seriously Deidara, he likes to make jokes on others expense.' Itachi said smoothly, taking a sip of green tea. Deidara nodded, starting to understand his humour.

The rest of the breakfast was mostly Hidan talking about his last mission, particularly the murders in detail. Deidara's pale face started to turn green as Hidan did rather crude interpretations of how he killed his last victim on a mission. The words blood, bones, pain, and screaming came up quite a lot and Deidara wondered did they all sit around like this and talk about nothing only killing.

Finally Sasori was the first to sit up, and looked coolly over to Deidara.

'We have training to do, now Let's go brat...' Deidara winced at the name, but got up immediately, abandoning his unfinished breakfast.

'Yes Sasori no Danna un...' he quickly mumbled. The group turned to Sasori with a look of disbelief and amusement on their faces.

'What did he just call you?'

'He addressed me as master, like I instructed him to' Sasori replied bluntly.

'Are you serious? You don't hear any of us calling each other "Danna", that's fucking ridiculous!'

'That is because you are all equals.' Sasori said in a bored tone.

'Sasori, it is unfair to judge him so soon.' Itachi said shaking his head. Sasori merely shrugged and walked out, Deidara right at his heel.

Again the walked in silence, Deidara was trying to work up the courage to say something to Sasori.

'urm...Sasori no danna un?'

'what is it brat?'

'uh...well...have I done something...anything to...to offend you un?' he said shyly.

'...Not yet, why?' came his short reply.

'Well...it's just... since we met...you don't seem too really like me that much un...' Deidara said sadly.

'What makes you think I have to like you?' Sasori said coldly.

'uh...well...I just though...the other members so far have been okay to me...I just...I...uh nothing, doesn't matter.' Deidara said trailing off. Sasori stopped in the hallway and turned round on Deidara.

'Listen to me, you're in the Akatsuki now, do you know what that means?' Sasori snapped. Deidara shook his head, but said yes at the same time, making Sasori grit his teeth in anger.

'it's means _brat_, that we are criminals, we murder for money, take on the most dangerous missions will little expense, so that means we do not have time for friendship, romance, or any off that other petty, foolish emotions, got it?'

'...yes Sasori no Danna'

Sasori seemed satisfied and continued on walking. Deidara followed, wondering how someone could be so cold. He knew Akatsuki members were generally not nice people, but didn't they need somebody once in a while?

***SASORI'S LESSON***

Deidara followed Sasori until the sudden brightness exploded in his eyes, making him squint in pain. He hadn't seen sunlight in days being so use to the dark base.

'Now listen carefully brat, because I only say things once...' Deidara nodded and he continued 'here is where we train...,'

'—Do you train everyday un?' Deidara cut in.

'Never interrupt me!' Sasori said coldly sending chills down Deidara's spine before continuing, 'but to answer your question, yes when we are not on missions we train, even the highest Shinobi in this world needs to keep their skills up or the will deteriorate.'

Deidara nodded, it made sense.

'The things we teach you will be different from what you might have learned in class, if anything...' Sasori said, with a hint of spite. Deidara grit his teeth again, he hated when his skills were insulted, he worked hard... he was the best ninja in his class!

'but what you learn here will be far more affective in battle, you are being taught by the best ninjas in the world, so by the end of it you should be up to our standards, and should be able to take out enemies with ease...that is of course providing you actually survive our training...' Sasori said, giving Deidara another harsh dig.

Deidara didn't care though, he was eager to learn more, and improve his art; how else did he intend on getting revenge for all the people who has hurt him.

'Since this is the first time we are sparring, I want to see how bad you are before I train you! Prepare yourself, we start at once'

Deidara had hardly time to register what Sasori had said before a couple of dozen, poison laced kunai where thrown in his direction; he quickly bend his body out of range, and flipped to the side narrowly missing the last few. He didn't get time to catch his breath as Sasori fired a second round of kunai, two of them narrowly missing his throat, while another one torn his cloak as he dogged it by inches.

Sasori was observing Deidara's movement. He had to admit deidara's speed was quicker than the average ninja his age. He was able to dodge the kunai, fall and recover from his position to dodge again. Sasori stopped his aim, and advanced to Deidara, who was crouching on the ground, short of breath. Sasori harshly picked him up, and scanned his clothing, frowning as he saw a torn sleeve on the cloak. Then his brown eyes met deidara's.

'Your speed is adequate but hesitant, and you landing is sloppy and clumsy...over all you did very poorly!' Sasori said harshly. He didn't actually think Deidara done that bad for his first go, any other ninja his age would have been dead... but he had no intention on telling Deidara that. Deidara felt odd having his skills criticised, usually in class he was above perfect; obviously the Akatsuki marked considerably higher.

Deidara wiped the blood off his arm with horror, he didn't think he had actually been hit.

'is..is it poison un?' Deidara asked shocked.

'If it was you would be dead brat, you didn't actually think I would put real poison on your first go, did you?' Sasori said, and Deidara for the first time caught a hint of friendliness in his voice. Sasori wiped the blood of with a cloth before standing up.

'All right, let's go again.'

'A-again?' Deidara asked surprised, he knew they hadn't been sparring long, but that was the hardest match he ever had, and it only lasted a couple of minutes, he was already out of breath and low on stamina.

'Yes brat, you hardly though it was going to be easy, training with me did you?' he said getting into a fighting position. Deidara crouched down too, trying to get ready for the kunai again, but suddenly a flaming shoot of moulting fire came bursting out of Sasori, burning everything in its path black. Deidara wasn't expecting it and the fire burned his arm as he dodged out of the way.

Deidara howled in pain, and feel to the side, before quickly leaping out of the fires way again. Sasori followed him, the fire trailing his every move, Deidara couldn't get away from it.

Soon the entire grounds was caught up in flame, Deidara with his one eye, couldn't even make Sasori's figure out from the smoke. He looked helplessly around, in the air, behind him, but he couldn't see him anywhere, cursing his damaged eyes he quickly went for his pouch of clay, but suddenly realised he couldn't use that too because his hands didn't heal yet.

Suddenly out of the smoke a red blur was inches from his face and a terrible cracking sound echoed through the grounds and Deidara fell, almost in slow motion to the ground, blood splurging from his mouth. The last thing he saw was that same red blur he had seen a few nights ago look down on him, then everything went black.

Sasori stared down at Deidara on the ground, he was knocked out cold, and blood was spilling from his head. Sasori realised he had sent all his charka to his fist, making the punch ten times harder. With one last look at Deidara, he walked off, wiping the blood from his wooden fist.

***A week later***

Deidara opened his eyes to the dark cave ceiling. He moaned slightly as he moved his head, and he could feel blood in his throat. He slowly got up, wincing. He now knew he was in Sasori's room...well their room now. His head pounded furiously, and he was seeing white spots.

Suddenly one of Sasori's puppets spoke, making Deidara jump in shock.

'You finally came round brat.' A low gruff voice said.

'Who...who said that un?' Deidara asked alarmed, squinting his eyes, trying to find the source...it could not have been a puppet.

'I did brat!' the voice growled louder. Deidara jumped again, and saw that the voice was coming from a large scorpion like puppet, wearing the traditional Akatsuki cloak. Deidara panicked wondering who this member was.

'Are you...but...you're...a...a puppet un'

There was a pause before the puppet spoke sarcastically back.

'_I know that brat_.'

'Then you can s-speak un?' Deidara asked amazed.

'of course I can!' the voice said aggressively.

'h-how un?' Deidara asked, thinking he must have hit his head harder then he thought.

'grrrr I'm Sasori, you stupid childish brat!' the voice growled, having enough of Deidara's stupidity.

'wha?' the voice made a long irrigated groan, before there was a sudden click and the top part opened, showing Sasori sitting inside, his red hair ruffled and falling messy around his angry eyes.

'I'm controlling this puppet from the inside' Sasori said, indication to his blue glowing charka strings. Deidara suddenly understood, getting up to take a closer look.

'Wow un...'Deidara said, looking at the puppet in amazement. Sasori's eyebrow raised and he looked at Deidara darkly.

'What did you say?' Sasori said aggressively, he was use to people from his home village insulting his puppet creations.

'Your puppets, there amazing!'

'...W-what?' Sasori asked surprised. Deidara looked a little scared; he wished he didn't say anything.

'I...I j-just said you p-puppet is really good un' Deidara said nervously. Sasori took in what he said with surprise. The kid actually though his puppets were amazing. Sasori didn't know what to say, he was a little lost for words. He realised he must have been staring at Deidara stupidly, as he quickly recovered his cold act, looking away.

'ahem, well anyway brat, I waited until you were up to tell you I'm going on a mission.'

'A mission? Do I go w-with you un?'

'No, don't be stupid, you wouldn't last 5 seconds on his mission!'

'okay un...w-when will you be back danna?' Deidara asked. Sasori ignored his question;

'I knocked you out cold during our sparring match on your first time and the leader believes I went too harsh on you, so he is allowing the others to help me train you too...' Sasori said smoothly, 'I believe your guard was not up and it was your own fault, regardless of this, while I am gone the others are going to give you some lessons, beware however just because they have been _nice_ (Sasori said the word in disgust) to you so far, does not mean they will go easy on you in training!'

Deidara nodded, feeling nervous at the thought of what was gonna come.

'While I'm gone try not to blow up the base or do anything stupid!' Sasori said, pulling the strings on the puppet so the top part dropped down again. Deidara nodded watching the huge puppet walk out of the room. Sasori though it was a good thing Deidara could not see his face, because he couldn't help but smile when Deidara had complimented his art work.

Deidara was just about to lie his sore head back down again, when the door suddenly burst open and Kisame appeared, holding his huge Samehada and grinning wildly.

'All right kido, get ready, you and me are gonna fight!'

***KISAME'S LESSON ***

'Okay listen up kido, while battling your enemies, your own charka can be as good as any weapon...' Kisame said to Deidara. They were both standing out in the training grounds again; Deidara noticed that the grounds weren't burnt from Sasori's fire attack anymore. Kisame wielded his huge sword in front of Deidara, who flinched back.

'Relax kid, I'm just showing you, this sword here is called Samehada...'

'uuuuuhhh what's it doing to m-me un?' Deidara asked, feeling weaker.

'My sword absorbs your charka, you see? And it starts to unwrap the more charka I absorb! For me to use this, I need my own charka, and that's no worry because I have an unusual amount,' Kisame said, and Deidara could detect a hint of pride in his voice, 'but for you charka can be a problem if you run out, you need it to do your bombs don't you?'

'y-yes un!'

'right, so during battle you have to control your charka, when I first was training Itachi, he could use incredible amounts of charka, giving him lots of power, but afterwards his stamina would be low, making him tired. You have to use the right balance for you!' he added.

'Right' Deidara said, taking note of everything Kisame was telling him.

'The main thing when it comes to battling though...is strength! Itachi does not agree with me, but brute strength and melee fighting is better than any technique.'

Deidara nodded taking in kisame's build, his muscles were huge, especially on his arm, it made Deidara feel weak in comparison.

'Anyway kid, I'm taking too much here, let's spar and see how we get on!' Kisame said, wielding out his huge sword. Deidara's eyes widened, he had never come across as big as weapon as this.

'Just try to get a punch in, while dodging my Samehada at the same time, use all the strength you can, and when you attack bring your charka to your fist for extra impact! Okay ready, let's go!'

Kisame's huge sword swung with ease at Deidara, who jumped out of the way just in time; Deidara was not expecting Kisame to be able to move so fast holding that huge sword. Kisame dived in to Deidara swinging his sword everywhere, Deidara went under and over his sword, dodging and blocking, trying to get in at Kisame, but Kisame was leaving no way open.

He swung around in circle, his sword moving at lightning speed, twice it almost ripped into deidara's chest, shredding his cloak. Deidara crouched down to avoid a swing of the sword and on his way back up he swung his fist forward to kisame's face. Kisame moved out of the way and brought Samehada down on deidara's arm shredding it, and smashing it in 3 places. Deidara howled as the sword crushed his bones and he fell to his knees squirming in pain.

Kisame stood, and held his sword down, looking at Deidara on the ground.

'Come on get up kid,' Kisame said seriously.

'I...m-my a-arm un' Deidara moaned softly, the blood pumping from the shredded skin was making a pool around him.

'I said get up!' Kisame growled, losing his patience; he wasn't use to dealing with suck weakness in the Akatsuki. This kid needed to toughen up fast if he was gonna survive.

Deidara squirmed around a little more, hissing painfully. The bones had snapped through his skin, and he felt the urge to get violently sick.

Kisame grit his teeth...this was NOT how an Akatsuki member acted, he grabbed Deidara's cloak and back handed his harshly across the face, bringing him back to his sense.

'Get up, let's go! If this was a real battle the enemy wouldn't stop, and you would be dead, now get up!' Kisame growled pulling Deidara up. Deidara slowly got up, clutching his arm. He saw kisame's sword had blood on it too. Kisame wasted no time and lunged for him again, Deidara skimmed out of the way and resumed his blocking.

Kisame did not go easy; he ruthlessly smashed the sword down, swinging it all around Deidara. He was really impressed with Deidara's speed, but he still didn't manage to hit Kisame yet.

Deidara crouched on the ground avoiding a harsh swing, and plunged his foot as hard as he could to the back of kisame's leg, and as Kisame fell back Deidara crashed the back of his elbow into Kisame face, the blow sending him to the ground.

Kisame clutched his nose, looking shocked at Deidara. A trickle of blood ran down his nose and he smiled;

'That's it kid, that's what I'm talking about!' he said wiping the blood of his nose. 'You need to work on your strength, to make the punch more powerful, next time you could break my face, but your speed was good!'

Deidara smiled lightly, heaving for breath. He was ready to drop. Kisame's force and strength was unbelievable and Deidara knew Kisame wasn't giving him it all. Kisame walked over and clapped a hand on deidara's back.

'hows you arm kid?'

'it's...*breath*oh...*breath* kay...' Deidara lied, grasping his arm, all the bones were crushed, it was staring to swell up and turn blue, it took all his strength not to scream his throat raw pain.

'...sorry kid, but I have to be tuff with you, you're in the Akatsuki now and people will want you dead, if you had to fight a real opponent you have to handle pain and get on with it. What if your arms got cut off and you couldn't use your mouth's for bombs? Huh?'

Deidara looked alarmed but knew Kisame was right, it still didn't help the pain in his arm though, and his pride was hurt too; that was the quickest spar he ever had, and he was useless.

'If you ever lost your arms in battle, you would still have to fight them in combat somehow, so you got to be tuff to be in this business.' Kisame continued, looking at deidara's bandaged arms.

'thanks Kisame un...'Deidara said, hissing in pain. Kisame looked at deidara's arm with slight pity, the bone was almost sticking through his skin and he was trying to act like it didn't hurt. He had his head held down in shame and it looked like something was troubling him.

'what's wrong Deidara, does it hurt _that_ bad?'

Deidara shook his head, and meeting kisame's eyes shyly.

'kisame...'

'yes kid?'

'...cloud...cloud you please not tell Sasori about...you know...my moment of weakness?' Deidara said shamefully, 'he just...thinks I'm a joke, and I got knocked out first time I trained with him...if he finds out about this...he wont ever take me seriously un'

'...okay Deidara, I won't tell...but you have to toughen up, Sasori is gonna find out eventually what you are like...it's up to you to make sure your good enough in his eyes.'

'...Thanks Kisame un' Deidara said, his blond hair covering his face in humiliation.

'Don't mention it, now come on let's get these bones healed up, wow Samehada really took a bit outta you!'

That night Deidara stayed in his and Sasori's room, away from the rest of the Akatsuki. It was quiet and dark, and Deidara stayed huddled up in bed, afraid to do anything or touch any of Sasori's stuff. He wondered when Sasori would return from his mission...what if he didn't? Deidara put that though out of his head, this was the great Sasori of the red sand he had heard about, there's no way any ninja he knew could take him on and survive.

So far all his training sessions had been terrible. They were nothing like the sparring he did in class. The others were ruthless, strong, quick, and Deidara knew they were still going easy on him. He lay his head down on the pillow sighing sadly. If he was gonna make it, he had to become a lot stronger.

The next morning Deidara sat in Kakuzu's room, waiting as the bones healed. Sasori had still not come back from his mission, so he didn't know what he was supposed to do today. Kakuzu was rummaging around, working on something Deidara couldn't see; finally he turned around, holding a strange metal object in his hand.

'Here try this...' Kakuzu said, gripping deidara's delicate face tightly and holding his eyelids open. Deidara flinched at the harshness Kakuzu's hands was on his face, his ruff hands were like sandpaper against his smooth cheek.

Kakuzu roughly popped the metal object into Deidara injured eye, making a small *Pop* sound. Deidara winced in pain, and snapped his head away from Kakuzu's hands.

Deidara blinked a few times, feeling the strange device in his eye socket.

'wha...what?'

'this is an eye scope, it will substitute for your old eye, and will also come to more of an advantage to you as the lens can zoom in on opponents from a good distance away.' Kakuzu said gruffly eyeing Deidara, who looked around the room in awe...it worked, it actually worked. He could see everything, the room, Kakuzu, every detail; he smiled his first true smile while being in the Akatsuki, and touched his new scope with amazement.

'Thank you so much Kakuzu un!' Deidara said beaming, tears almost swelling up in his eyes. He blinked them away quickly, in case Kakuzu though he was weak.

He finally had his eyesight back, those bastards at the village though he would never be able to see the same again when they cut his eye out. He felt a rush of happiness and excitement.

Kakuzu stared at Deidara with interest. This was the first time he had seen the kid display any emotion other than fear since he had joined.

'Thank you, thank you, thank you un!' Deidara said brightly, his eyes shining with happiness.

'yes okay, but take care of it Deidara, the materials are quite expensive, I don't want to make one after every mission you go on, your hands should finish healing soon, I don't know if they will be as effective as before, but I guess we will see.' Kakuzu replied seriously.

'What's going on here, why the fuck are you so happy?' Hidan said appearing at the door.

'Kakuzu made me a scope for my eye un, now I can see perfectly with both eye's again un!' Deidara said at once, forgetting all his fear of Hidan.

Hidan looked at the scope and smiled;

'Great, you can test it out when you train with me!' Hidan said getting pumped up. Deidara's fear came back to him again, he had heard tales on what Hidan's fighting skill was, and all of them were gruesome.

Hidan saw Deidara's fear in his eyes and laughed.

'Ha, you didn't think you would get out of battling with me did ya?'

Deidara stuttered, feeling nervous...his first fight with Sasori lasted less than 3 minutes before he was knocked out cold, Kisame had crushed every bone in Deidara arm, and shredded his skin with his Samehada, and know it was Hidan's turn.

'Get dressed and meet me in the training grounds!' Hidan smirked, 'I'll sharpen my scythe while I'm waiting!'

Deidara panicked, he forgot Hidan had a huge red scythe. He quickly looked at Kakuzu.

'he's not gonna k-kill me is he?' Deidara said nervously.

'he was told to just train you, but be careful, Hidan can get carried away in the heat of battle, I'll come with you to the training grounds.'

Deidara nodded, feeling a little relieved and hopped of the desk following Kakuzu out of the room.

Deidara realised Kakuzu wasn't one for taking much, unless it was important. He was more serious than his partner Hidan, but he tried anyway;

'Urm Kakuzu?'

Kakuzu turned his head to meet Deidara's, showing he was listening.

'Urm...how...how long does it take to do a mission un?'

'That depends on the type of mission; one could take 3 days to 3 weeks.'

Deidara nodded, Sasori had been gone for four days now.

'uh...are all the missions S-Rank un?'

'of course they are, the Akatsuki is the most wanted group in all of the shinobi world, anywhere you go Deidara, people will want to capture you, or kill you.'

***HIDANS LESSON***

By now Kakuzu and Deidara had reached the training grounds, and saw Hidan standing there casually with his scythe.

'What took so fucking long? Come on I wana fight!' Hidan wined.

'Hidan, you were told to give Deidara some advice on battling before you begin!' Kakuzu warned him. Hidan rolled his eyes, he wanted to skip all that boring stuff and get straight to the fun.

'All right dei listen, I could blab on about the best ways to fight, but everyone's different. In my opinion you should be as ruthless and mercifulness as possible, slice them up, hack them to pieces, don't let them get away!' Hidan said swiping his sword.

Kakuzu watching rolled his eyes. His partner was not making any sense. Deidara nodded trying to understand what Hidan was saying.

'There is no plan when it comes to battle, I go in and fuck them up until they are practically begging me to kill them! That's what you have to do as well; you have to be so insane that they will beg you to end their lives fast! BUT DONT! Make them suffer as much as possible!'

Deidara smiled, he did want to make his village suffer as much as possible after what they done to him.

'It's a pity you can use your clay bombs yet, because fighting me in combat isn't very effect, but now that you have you eye sight perfect again, you can work on your defence skills. I'm gonna use my scythe to try and get your blood, so you have to avoid me as much as possible, got it?'

Deidara didn't know why Hidan was gonna try and get his blood, but he nodded anyway. If Hidan was anything like Kisame, he would be able to move fast with that huge scythe in his hand, so Deidara prepared himself.

Kakuzu suddenly took Hidan aside, gripping his arm harshly,

'What the fuck—'

'—Hidan, I'm warning you now, this isn't some stupid sacrifice to your god, your just training Deidara and nothing more, so don't get carried away!' Kakuzu said seriously.

'Oh Fuck of Kakuzu, I know what I'm doing!' Hidan snapped back, pushing Kakuzu away roughly. Kakuzu had to fight the urge to not strangle him there, and sit down.

Hidan launched himself at Deidara, and just as he expected Hidan moved very fast while holding his heavily weapon. Deidara jumped out of the way in lighting speed, Hidan was swiping at him furiously, while laughing insanely.

Kakuzu watched from a distance, Deidara was extremely fast for his age; he looked like a blur dodging Hidan's attack. Hidan swiped at Deidara violently, he was starting to get annoyed; it never took him this long to collect some blood from his victim.

Kakuzu could see Hidan's attack becoming more reckless and dangerous; he was only supposed to train the kid, not kill him. Kakuzu hoped Hidan wouldn't get carried away.

Deidara was becoming out of breath, but Hidan showed no signs of stopping. He couldn't even get a hit in. Deidara wished he had his clay with him, as least he could attack from a distance. He reached into his cloak and took out some kunai, throwing them precisely at Hidan's neck, but with immense speed Hidan guarded his neck, letting the kunai bounce of his scythe instead.

One kunai deflected of Hidan and stuck right into deidara's knee, sending him falling to the ground, and Hidan quickly saw his chance. He dove in and sliced deidara's chest, shredding his cloak and drawing blood.

The wound was not too deep, but Hidan had gotten what he wanted, a drop of blood was all he needed.

Deidara grabbed his chest in pain, and gazed up at Hidan, who had suddenly started laughing insanely.

'hahahahahahaha your fucked now kid!' Hidan laughed wildly. Deidara didn't know what was happening, Hidan's skin started to turn black, with white bones and a red pentagon was painted around where he stood.

Kakuzu sat up watching his partner. he better not take It too far; Kakuzu could only sow up certain wounds.

Hidan raised his scythe menacingly, and with one last wild look at Deidara, plunged the scythe into his chest.

Deidara saw white spots as blood pumped up his throat and burst out his mouth. he grabbed his chest in agony, leaned over until his head was touching the ground. What just happened? How did Hidan do this?

Kakuzu ran over and grabbed the scythe out of Hidan's hand.

'Hey what the fuck Kakuzu?'

'HIDAN YOU STUPID MORAN, YOU WENT TOO FAR!' Kakuzu shouted angrily, looking down at Deidara.

'Fuck off Kakuzu, he'll be fine!' Hidan said, but sounded a little tense.

'god dam it Hidan, if he dies now, the leader will be furious!' Kakuzu shouted at his partner.

'Fuck sake, Relax Kakuzu, can't you just sow him up like you do with me?'

'You might have punctured some vital organs Hidan!' Kakuzu shouted, examining Deidara's wound. He couldn't see it with the amount of blood, and Deidara was slipping un-conscious from the pain and blood loss.

'God Hidan, every fucking time, can't you control yourself in battle? I told you not to get carried away!' Kakuzu shouted furiously, lifting Deidara up in his arms.

Hidan flinched back; it wasn't often Kakuzu sweared unless he was really angry. He looked at the bloody mess in his arms; there was so much blood on Deidara Hidan couldn't see the wound. This was bad, he didn't mean to go so deep; he just got carried away.

'Kakuzu, what can I do?' Hidan said hopelessly, fear and panic in his voice. If he died now all of their energy and time spend on saving him would be wasted and the leader would be furious.

'Just get out of my way!' Kakuzu said pushing past Hidan and heading back into the base carrying Deidara in his arms. He had to find Konan or Itachi right away.

***LATER THAT EVENING***

Sasori felt a sudden chill run down him, as he skimmed through the trees. He had completed his mission and was now returning back to the base. He decided not to use Hiruko because that would slow him down.

The forest was deathly quiet and the sun was beginning to set. Another hour or two and he would be back in the base. He wondered briefly how Deidara was getting on training with the others. The brat was deluded if he thought the others would go easy on him just because they were nice to him.

He knew what all the members were like to battle, and the though suddenly left him unsettled. What if he got back and the brat was dead? He decided not to think any more on it. He tired from his mission and he didn't really care about the brat anyway.

But a smile crept on him when he remembered Deidara complementing his puppet. Since he had joined he showed Sasori respect, something that his ex-partner Orochimaru lacked. A spark of guilt shot through Sasori as he remembered Deidara crying a few nights ago. He didn't consider how Deidara was feeling; being in a strange and new place. When Sasori had first joined he was older than Deidara but still a little scared, Kakuzu and Kisame had been there for him, helping him grow stronger every day.

He even remembered when Hidan and Itachi joined; they were all given a chance. Sasori admitted the way he was treating Deidara wasn't very fair. He still didn't like the brat, but maybe when he got back to the base he would go a little easier on him, so long as the brat didn't annoy him.

The sky was pitch black and cloudy when Sasori finally reached the base. As always he went straight to the leader, to tell him of the mission and hand him necessary scrolls. But to his surprise the leader was not there. Sasori left, not having the patience to wait for him, and walked back to his room to inspect the brat.

When he opened the door, he saw that the room was empty. The bed was made and there was no sign of Deidara anywhere.

He turned around and suddenly bumped into Hidan who was standing right behind him.

'Sasori, your back!' Hidan said quickly. He was paler than usual, and looked anxious.

'Where is everyone? Have you seen the leader?' Sasori asked observing Hidan odd behaviour. What was going on?

'The leader's not here, I came to tell you...' Hidan stared speaking, but Sasori now noticed his blood covered cloak.

'Hidan why are you covered in blood?' Sasori asked raising his eyebrow...did him and Kakuzu have another fight? It was common for Kakuzu to lose his temper and kill past partners but Sasori though he was past that.

'That's what I came to tell you...' Hidan said with a hint of panic in his voice, Sasori looked at him confused, before it suddenly all fit together;

'_Deidara_...' Sasori eyes widened, 'Hidan where's Deidara?'

_**Reply to Reviews**_

_**Keono**__; yes poor Deidara, but Sasori will warm up eventually!_

_**Uchiha-Dusk;**__ thanks you, I hope the update wasn't too long for you!_

_**XSweetXSourXSoul;**__ I know he's acting mean now, but not for much longer._

_**Deisluv;**__ I'm sorry I didn't reply, I couldn't give a specific date. But thanks for reading!_

_**Risa;**__ I'm planning on having his hands healing, who is Deidara without his wonderful exploding hands!^^_

_**Tobifan66;**__ hehe thanks for reading and reviewing, I'm happy you say its a good reading chapter, I think if I find it boring to write, then it will be boring to read so I try t make something exciting happen in each chapter!_

_**Shadownin1010;**__ hehe thanks for the hug! ^^ I didn't notice that, sorry it was a mistake, but you can read it any way you want lol! Yeah Sasori is mean in my fic, I just can't write about him being all happy, but he will start caring A LOT for Deidara, so don't worry, Sasori's a good guy really. Hehe was this chapter long enough? I can never write angst stuff on my favourite characters unless I make it up to them. So I know I'm hurting Deidara now, but just think of what good things I have in store of him, hehe he's gonna luv it anyway! Hehe yeah I love writing Hidan, he's so funny in the Manga. I liked Tobi until I found out he was Madara, now I don't know what to make of him. Hehe cool your doing your English story on this lol, thank you!^^ hehe the more I read ur review the more I laugh hehe seriously its put me in a real good mood, especially since I have been stressing out on getting it right after a bad review. I'll update as soon as I can, just for you lol._

_**Hiroshige Uchiha;**__ cool thanks, yeah I agree I don't like fics when the suddenly fall in love, that's why I'm having Sasori mean at the start because in the manga he doesn't respect Deidara anyway so I figured it took time for Deidara to grow on him!^^_

_**Theblackleathershoes;**__ thank you that really means loads to me, but I sorry I don't understand your question, if you mean will I write about Deidara getting revenge in this fic then yes, that's what I'm planning, I can't let his village get away with what they did to him! But if you meant a whole new story then I'm afraid it will have to wait until I finish this, I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner, I meant to but I forgot!^^_

_**Superfan8**__; thanks, I hope is woking okay and the chapter wasn't too boring, I know a lot of you are waiting on yaoi to happen! Yeah I think it's important too, because nobody else calls their partners danna, and yes hehe Deidara just can't stop saying "un"!_

_**Bitch in sheeps clothing**__; I'm sorry I'm not good enough with this story, I do try, but yes you're right my grammar is horrible. I have been searching for a beta reader, but one took too long to get back to me with the story. I want to update faster than that. As for the characters, the warning does say slight OCC but ...I don't think Sasori is that OCC, because he is pretty emotionless in the Manga, and I planned the others to be nice to Deidara now that he's part of the Akatsuki. If Deidara hated Itachi because of his Sharingan like in the Manga then it would not suit my story. I'm sorry if you can't see any plot, your right I don't exactly plan my stories very good, but that's because its only fan fiction, something to do while I'm waiting on new Manga chapters to come out and I'm not gonna take it that serious, nobody should...its only for fun after all. Your right I probably should scrap it, but others are reading and seem to think it's okay so I will keep going, thanks for reviewing, criticism is very important to help me get better, even if it did shake my confidence, _

_To the next __**anonymous**__ review who said "nobody has ever written a fanfic as good as this", your timing couldn't have been better...I was really doubling my story, and wondering was it worth it to continue, since some reader's expect a lot out of this and I might fail them. But when I got your review, and toughened up and went straight back to finishing the chapter. I don't know who you are, but thanks to you I won't ever doubt myself again!_

_**KSTM;**__ Thanks, I hope the chapter was okay, Part 2 is on its way!_

_**Deisluv**__; Sasori will start to like Deidara soon, I promise (but beware will he really like him? Or just use him? Deidara will have to show his puppet master what love truly means!)_

_Training Part 2 is on its way, this time Deidara will have to go up against Itachi and Kakuzu until he is strong enough to be a member. I know a lot of you are waiting for the yaoi to start, so I'm gonna try and built it up from the next chapter on._

_Thanks for all our reviews, the good and bad ones. I was nervous about putting up this chapter. And was kind of disheartened...but in the end It felt good to get a true honest bad review telling me I should scrap it all, even if it did hurt a little, I'm glad the reviewer said it because __**bad reviews is just as important as good reviews.**__ It made me look over the chapter again, and try to plan things better, because I admit when I started this I didn't think readers took fanfiction that serious, I thought it was just a hobby of some but I understand now that you expect a lot more and I'm not delivering, from now on I will try harder._

_I won't quit and I will get better at writing, so maybe you will come back to my story and like it. That is my way of a ninja! Lol_

_Ninjashallow_


	12. Chapter 13 Training Part 2

Chapter 13 Training Part 2

Sasori followed Hidan down the dark hall base to Kakuzu's room; he didn't know who he felt. Something happened to Deidara when he was gone, he had a pretty good idea whose fault it was by the way Hidan was acting.

Hidan looked over his shoulder at Sasori and was surprised to see a hint of concern in Sasori's eyes. But Sasori caught his eyes, and he quickly put his emotionless mask back on, so Hidan couldn't tell if the puppet master was upset, or angry, or bored.

Hidan opened the door to his room and Sasori walked in front of him and saw Deidara laying in the bed, with Kakuzu crouching over him. The sheets were covered in blood...which was normal since Hidan slept in them, but Sasori knew that blood belonged to Deidara.

Keeping his cool, he walked over and looked down at Deidara with brown eyes. Kakuzu met his eyes and got up, wiping the blood of his hands.

'What happened to him?' Sasori demanded, although he was quite sure already.

'Why don't you ask Hidan?' Kakuzu replied angrily, glaring daggers at his partner. Hidan immediately tensed, and shouted back, defending himself;

'I didn't mean...it wasn't like...fucks sake Kakuzu it was the kid's god dam fault!' he said trying to defend himself. But Sasori wasn't listening; he crouched down beside Deidara and lifted his bed sheets to look at the wound. Sure enough a huge scythe shaped cut was inflicted in Deidara's chest; the wound was sowed up with black stitches from Kakuzu, but it was horrible looking.

'How bad is it?' Sasori asked coldly.

'No vital organs were punchered, he lost a lot of blood, but he will be fine.' Kakuzu said seriously.

'You mean it?' Hidan said looking relieved; Kakuzu turned his head to his partner angrily.

'No thanks to you! You could have killed him you Moran!'

'But Kakuzu...'

'You couldn't just fight him like Kisame and Sasori; you had to take it one step further to show you're stronger!'

'No, it wasn't like that' Hidan tried to protest. Kakuzu mumbled a "whatever" and pushed past Hidan roughly, he stopped at the doorway;

'Take him back to your own room Sasori!' Kakuzu snapped before leaving the room.

Hidan looked back to see Sasori staring coldly at him.

'What, your gonna start on me to? I thought you didn't care for the kid?' Hidan said folding his arms. Sasori's almost blushed.

'I don't!' Sasori said, a little too quickly.

'hmpt...you could 'a fooled me, your skin turned white as a ghost when I told you!'

'I...I just don't want the bother of finding a new partner again!' Sasori said, trying to sound cold.

'Oh really? If I didn't know any better, I would almost think you are warming up to the kid!' Hidan smirked, loving how he was getting Sasori flustered. Sasori scowled and turned back to Deidara with glowing charka flowing from his hands. With one quick jerk of his finger the sheets flew of Deidara, and he crashed to the floor at Sasori's feet.

'FUCK SASORI, BE MORE GENTLE!' Hidan said alarmed, 'Kakuzu just sowed up his wounds, and your already throwing him around!'

Sasori smirked back, 'I don't care, I'm not carrying him the whole way back to my room!'

'oh fuck sake Sasori, he's lighter than a feather—'

'—I said I'm NOT carrying him!' Sasori replied coolly, and continued to drag the unconscious Deidara out of the door with his charka strings. He could have manipulated him to walk, like his other puppets but that required more unnecessary movements of his hands.

'FINE I WILL CARRY HIM!' Hidan finally said, picking the blonde up in his arms and laying him over his shoulder, 'Kakuzu will be pissed if his wounds open again, why do you have to be such a dick sometimes!' Hidan huffed, pushing past Sasori, who smirked flexing his fingers.

The both walked down the hallway together until they reached Sasori's room. Hidan looked at the scorpion symbol on Sasori's door, while Sasori opened the door for him.

It wasn't every often Hidan was in Sasori's room, as he tended to be the most unsociable out of all the Akatsuki, but every time he was allowed in, he was amazed by the amount of puppets Sasori had lying around, and all the weapons and poisons to add to them.

'hey don't you think you should put them poisons away safely, now that you have a kid in your room and all!' Hidan said, trying to wind Sasori up.

'Put him on the bed...' Sasori said, completely ignoring Hidan's silly remark. Hidan walked over to the bed and dumped Deidara on the soft covers. Sasori quickly looked over and growled.

'NO! Put him on _his_ side, he is too far in the centre!'

Hidan gave Sasori a look of complete disbelief, before shaking his head, and moving Deidara out of Sasori's bedside. He could not believe Sasori could be so particular about his space.

'...Kakuzu decided that we shouldn't tell the leader about this!' Hidan said after a few minutes.

'about what?' Sasori asked in a bored tone.

'well...you know...what happened in training...how I got a little...uh...carried away!' Hidan grinned nervously.

'...Kakuzu said this?' Sasori asked raising his eyebrow.

'okay okay, I did! I begged Kakuzu not to tell leader, so don't you tell him either, he will flip out on me!' Hidan said quickly.

'I see...why should I not tell? It will take the heat off me for a while, Pain has been quite harsh with me recently, in fact he went mad at me for knocking Deidara unconscious the first training session!' Sasori said folding his arms.

'Oh come on man, I wouldn't rat you out, if you don't tell him I'll...I'll...get you a hot date!' Hidan said joking.

'Get out of my room now.' Sasori said rolling his eyes.

'oh please Sasori, I was kidding...I'll do something...anything, just don't tell leader-san!' Hidan said, almost begged. Sasori was a little surprised, he never heard Hidan say please before...and Hidan didn't even swear in that sentence.

'...fine, I won't tell' Sasori said, Hidan breathed a sign of relief. '—but'

'huh?'

'...you owe me one!'

'Okay, yeah that's fine, whatever!' Hidan said, pleased that Sasori was on his side. Sasori went back to his work, and Hidan stood in his room looking around.

'You can go now!' Sasori said over his shoulder.

'Come on Sasori, why don't we hang out.'

'I'm busy.'

'You're always busy; you never hang out with us.'

'...'

'We could go into the village, get some supplies, kill some guards, it will be fun!'

'...No.'

'You're always fucking working on your stupid puppets, you should get out more!' Hidan said getting annoyed.

'...your _partner _is probably waiting on you!' Sasori said coldly. Hidan though he almost caught a hint of bitterness in his tone.

'At least I HAVE a partner!' Hidan said without meaning to. He inwardly kicked himself when he saw Sasori's shoulders hunch slightly as though he was hurt. Sasori knew what he meant by it...he never had a partner, like the rest of the members had. Hidan regretted saying it, he knew deep down Sasori was a lonely person, he needed to apologise;

'Sasori I'm—'

'—You can go now.' Sasori said emotionless. Hidan hesitated looking at Sasori's back. The puppet master kept working silently, his head bowed down in concentration. Hidan couldn't see is face, but he was sure he hit a nerve when he said that. He took one last look at Sasori and then silently left.

Sasori waited until he couldn't feel Hidan's charka, before he stopped what he was working on, setting the puppet arm down on the bench. He sat in the same spot, staring at the bench surface, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not cry, he could not feel anything.

He remembered what sadness felt like, he knew how it would feel, but he couldn't feel it... what Hidan said had hurt...but not enough to allow his puppet body to cry.

***Iwagakure***

Jiraiya pasted through the village street of Iwagakure, admiring the stone work build all over the village. He was on a mission, in search for Tsunade, having had no look so far he stopped in the rock village while on his way back to Konoha.

It wasn't often he got the time to visit other village leaders, since he was always busy on missions. But when he could he would stop by because he liked when all village's worked together and promoted peace. He wasn't exactly as close to the rock village as he was to the other villages but he decided to pass through it on his way back anyway.

He had just reached the stone entrance to the Tsuchikage when some guards bowed welcoming him.

'Jiraiya-sama, welcome to our village' one guard said bowing respectively.

'Thank you, I wonder if you could take me to the Tsuchikage if he isn't too busy.' Jiraiya replied, observing the nice stone temple and velvet hanging curtains.

'Certainly, right this way Jiraiya-sama.' Another guard said, as they escorted Jiraiya up the long stone steps. Jiraiya saw lots of warning posters of the Akatsuki on the stone walls, but his attention was quickly diverted to a pretty women passing down the steps. She looked like a geisha girl and Jiraiya took a mental note to stop by the geisha house on his way out.

Finally they reached the long stone steps to the top. He was lead down a stone passage until he came to a stop behind a velvet purple curtain.

'The Tsuchikage is with someone at the moment but he will be right with you after, feel free to sit down, one of our servants will be right with you with refreshments.'

'Thank you' Jiraiya said, taking a seat on a blue velvet cushion. The guards left and he was now on his own. He waited until finally the curtains opened and the Tsuchikage came in smiling.

'Ah Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin, to what do I owe this pleasure!'

Jiraiya sat up smiling. 'Hello Ōnoki, I'm just passing through, it's been a while since we have chatted how are you?'

'oh excellent Jiraiya, its good seeing you again, you don't come by our village very often.'

'Yes, well I have been busy, missions take up most of my time' Jiraiya said. This wasn't entirely true, out of all the villages Jiraiya was least friendly with the rock. Not because of the village or people, but because of their leader. He always though Ōnoki was a peculiar person with ruthless ways of doing things, but he was quite sure that Ōnoki was not a person to get on the wrong side with, so avoiding any future conflict with konoha Jiraiya made it is business to keep friendly with him.

'hmm you make time to visit other villages more often though...' Ōnoki said half smiling.

'how is everything been anyway?' Jiraiya said thinking it best to change the subject.

'oh fine fine, can't say the same for Konoha, I'm sorry to hear about the third Hokage' he said, sounding not sorry at all.

'yes it couldn't be helped, with the envision of Orochimaru, I wasn't aware he fled the Akatsuki, I heard you had sightings of them in this village, did you find out what they wanted?'

'No, some of the members were repeatedly spotted in our village, but after a week they weren't sighted at all, if they were looking for something they must have found it, or moved on.' Ōnoki said, 'Konohas Itachi Uchiha was among one of the Akatsuki members spotted I believe!' he said and Jiraiya could not mistake the spite in his voice.

'...Right'

'Of course there are none of our villagers that would betray us and join Akatsuki!' Ōnoki said with a hint of superiority in his tone. It sounded like he was blaming konoha for Itachi's betray and for the Akatsuki.

'Yes, well count yourselves very lucky.' Jiraiya replied a little darkly, 'as I was walking through the village I heard the villagers all speak of a boy that's been giving trouble, they sound very bitter, what do you know of this?'

'Well...not that it's any of your business Jiraiya, but yes we did have a little trouble from one of our training ninja, but we sorted it out.' He said in a over sweetly voice. Jiraiya didn't like the way he said "sorted out". After a few minutes of silence he had to ask;

'Just out of curiosity...what do you mean by "we sorted it out"?' Jiraiya asked as politely as he could. The Tsuchikage merely shrugged, smiling;

'We got rid of the problem.'

'...I take it you mean "the problem" as the child, so what did you do with him?'

'Why do you want to know?'

'I'm just interested to know how Iwagakure deals out punishment compared to Konoha, that's all.'

'Our methods of dealing out punishment is not as lax as your village Jiraiya.'

'I see...so then what did you do?'

'why don't you see for yourself...' Ōnoki said, pointing to the stone wall. Jiraiya looked to where he pointed and saw two cut off tongues and an eyeball mounted in a jar on a shelf behind the Tsuchikage. His stomach turned at the sight of it and he had to look away in disgust.

'...that...that's a little harsh don't you think?' Jiraiya said seriously. Konoha would never deal punishment this way. He was pretty sure most villages weren't as ruthless.

'Perhaps if you dealt out punishment the same way, Ninja like Itachi Uchiha would not have slaughtered his entire clan and fled your village, you can never be too lenient when it comes to controlling you village!'

'Why do you keep it?' Jiraiya said, indicating to the jar.

'As an example to the rest of the village, on what happens when we cannot trust them any longer, and besides it's a great souvenir, you have never met the boy, but believe me he was special...blond hair, blue eyes...pity it had to end like that.' Ōnoki said gazing off, with a certain desire in his eyes.

Jiraiya wasn't sure how to take what he said, but he was sure that he had enough of Ōnoki presence. He could not believe the cruelty and harshness this village gave to their villagers, and was suddenly starting to miss home; konoha would never under any circumstance threat their villagers like that, no matter how bad their crime was.

'I heard you declined the offer to be Hokage in your village.'

'Yes, it didn't appeal to me.'

'Pity...you could have improved your villages theory on punishment, to avoid future mishaps like the Uchiha massacre.'

'Konoha would never sink that low in dealing punishment!'

'hmmm your right, maybe you're not ideal for the position of Hokage, hopefully your village will find a better suitor that the last.' Ōnoki said spitefully. Jiraiya looked seriously at him as he insulted his sensei, but quickly controlled his emotions.

'I should get going...' Jiraiya said, standing up.

'oh so soon? Won't you stay for some sake? I can order some female company...' Ōnoki said sickly.

'No I must get going; I have to make it back to Konoha in a few hours...' Jiraiya said, having lost all interest in going to the geisha house, even the Tsuchikage's offer of female company didn't tempt Jiraiya, he felt sick and disgust in the Tsuchikage's presence.

'If you insist.' Ōnoki said, leading him out of the stone hallway. 'Come visit us again soon!' he said waving Jiraiya off.

Jiraiya walked down the long stone steps until he reached the village and take a deep breath. He looked at a poster in front of him, a warning about the Akatsuki, and suddenly Jiraiya felt like he shouldn't have left Naruto on his own. He was becoming aware of

***Konoha***

Itachi walked silently beside his partner Kisame, a little away from the main street. They had just come from a dango shop, and had to quickly flee when Kakashi turned up. He had mentioned he was gonna meet Sasuke here, and Itachi's heart beat stopped for a split second. Kisame noticed this and they both decided to go to a more secluded part of the village in search for Naruto. But problems arose when they were countered by Kakashi Hatake.

Itachi rubbed his eye sorely. Battling Kakashi had weakened him a little. He felt bad for having to use his Mangekyo Sharingan on him but it was the best way to escape them, without having to go into battle. Kisame looked over at his partner and frowned; Itachi should have let him battled instead.

'Are you sure your okay Itachi?' Kisame asked his partner after the fled leaving Kakashi in Itachi's Ninjutsu. He was sure he was a little upset by the mention of his little brother.

'I'm fine Kisame, please stop asking me that and keep your eyes open for Naruto.' Itachi responded seriously. Kisame nodded, feeling kind of dejected; sometimes Itachi could be as cold and distant as they day the first met. Itachi noticed this and his eyes creased sadly;

'I'm sorry Kisame, it's just...being back in this village...brings back memories I try to forget, somewhere here my little brother Sasuke is hating me, as long as I don't run into him, I won't have to hurt him further...' Itachi said quietly.

'it's okay Itachi, we will just find that demon fox kid and then head straight back to the base...haha I wonder how Deidara is getting on with Hidan training him! He could be dead by the time we get back, you know what he's like in battle!'

'Don't forget you are very similar when it comes to battle, you can get carried away too!' Itachi said smiling. Kisame grinned, and held Itachi's hand under their Akatsuki robes.

'we will have stop anymore interferences...especially with Jiraiya.'

'you mean the legendary Jiraiya? Is he here in your village?' Kisame asked surprised. He loved to fight but he knew taking on Jiraiya might be too much.

'No yet but he will be, and when he comes we need something to distract him so we can find the demon fox Naruto!'.

***Akatsuki base***

Deidara woke up from his conscious state for what felt like the millionth time. His body hurt and he felt nauseous. He sat up briefly and held his stomach trying to remember what happened. It felt like since he was beaten in the forest, till now all he had suffered was pain again and again. he was tired of being hurt, tired of being knocked out cold and tired of waking up not remembering where he was.

Suddenly the door opened and his partner Sasori walked in.

'I thought I felt your charka awaken.' Sasori said mono-toned, sitting down at his work bench again.

'What happened un?' Deidara asked meekly.

'what always happens...you got knocked out in a fight because your too weak!' Sasori said, ignoring the fact that Hidan was the one that plunged a scythe straight through his stomach almost killing him. Deidara frowned at being called weak, he really did not want Sasori to have that impression of him.

'Danna, I tried my best un'

'Your best isn't good enough for this organisation!' Sasori snapped back, 'I'm starting to wonder if leader-san is sane in the head taking you on as a member!'

'I'll do better; just give me a c-chance un!' Deidara said desperately.

'You'll need to get a hell of a lot better if you want to be my partner, because on our first mission if you slow me down, you will be dead!' Sasori said harshly. Deidara bit his lip, trying his best not to let tears fall. What was he doing here? Life was supposed to get better for him when he left the village.

A few moments of silence pasted before Deidara got the courage to speak.

'do you have a m-mission to do un?'

'No.' Came Sasori's short reply.

'Then urm...do you...I mean...if you want...we could spar again un?' Deidara stuttered nervously. He was rewarded with a mean snort.

'No thanks...' Sasori said sarcastically, 'I do not waste my time on such hopeless activities.'

Deidara took in what he said, realising Sasori just called him hopeless. Deidara pulled the sheets of him and groaned getting out of the bed. Sasori turned around to see what he was doing.

'where are you going brat?' Sasori snapped.

'to the b-bathroom un...'

'oh...' Sasori almost blushed feeling stupid, 'don't trip over anything!' he added. Deidara carefully made his way over to the bathroom shutting the door behind him. Sasori tried to concentrate on his work, but couldn't help over hear Deidara cough up blood in the sink.

After a few minutes Deidara came out, wiping the blood off his mouth. Sasori tried to ignore him, but was curious to see what Deidara was doing next. He looked over and saw that Deidara was admiring one of his puppets that he usually kept in a scroll.

'Do not touch that puppet!' Sasori said sharply. Deidara winced at the harsh snap, but nodded and admired it from a distance.

'I like you puppets Sasori no danna...' Deidara said a little anxiously; he was never sure when Sasori would snap at him. Sasori scoffed and turned back to his work.

'like I care if you like them are not brat.'

Deidara ignored his statement and looked at a particularly fierce looking puppet.

'This is my favourite one un.'

Out of interest Sasori turned his head, and looked at the puppet Deidara was talking about. His eyes widened in surprise when it was his favourite one also; "the third Kazekage".

'That's my favourite puppet too...' Sasori said, forgetting himself. Deidara looked at him, wondering why he had a strange look in his eyes.

'why is that your favourite Danna un?'

'huh?...never mind brat, just don't touch it!' Sasori snapped, coming back to his senses. He was certainty not going to tell the brat why he liked that puppet so much. Deidara looked a little dejected but let it go...he had finally got Sasori talking to him so he didn't want it to end now.

'Do you have any puppets that can fly un?' Deidara asked interested. Sasori turned around to face him this time. He didn't understand why Deidara couldn't just be quiet and stay out of his way.

'I may have...why?' Sasori said a little irritated.

'No reason un...I...I just love the thought of flying un!' Deidara said not being able to keep a smile off his face. Sasori rolled his eyes, wondering how much more he could take of this, this kid was just a childish brat, with stupid silly dreams.

'My clay creations can fly un,' Deidara said proudly, ' I love to watch them soar into the sky like a real living creature and then explode like fireworks, creating fleeting art un!'

Sasori slammed his fist down on his work bench angrily, he had enough of this.

'first of all your creations don't "fly" you are simply manipulating them to move, I could attach my charka strings to you and make you fly through that wall, it's the same thing —'

'—but Danna'

'—secondly fireworks are noisy and distracting and if I catch you doing them near me just for fun, I will make you live to regret it —'

'—but...but'

'—And lastly your stupid noisy exploding clay is _not_ art, art is solid work that stands the test of time, never moving, never fleeting, but always there for you to appreciate!' Sasori said angrily, his patience finally reaching boiling point.

'You're wrong un!' Deidara said suddenly, he couldn't take anymore of people sneering and mocking his art, it was just as good as Sasori's.

'...What did you say brat?' Sasori asked furiously. Deidara gulped, he had never talked back to Sasori like this before.

'I...I respect your o-opinion on art Sasori no Danna, b-but I d-don't agree with it un'

'You think you know better that me?'

'What? n-no, I...I just—'

'You think your "art" can match mine?'

'I...I just meant that—'

'Fine, get your lump of clay and meet me in the training grounds, looks like I have to teach you a new lesson!' Sasori said abandoning his puppet work and marching out the room leaving Deidara stunned. What did he get himself in to?

Itachi and Kisame entered the base in complete silence. Kisame looked nervously at Itachi, wondering what to say. They had found Naruto but failed on capturing him, and even Jiraiya showing up wasn't the worst of it. Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother had appeared, and boy was he angry.

Itachi didn't say a thing since all the way back to the base, and Kisame knew what was troubling him. Itachi was forced to use Mangekyo Sharingan on his little brother, making him live through all the painful experiences of that night again. Itachi had to act like the evil brother in front of him, even as he beat Sasuke, broke his wrist and verbally abused him, Itachi didn't let his mask slip.

Not until they were far away from konoha and deep in the woods did Itachi break down and cry into kisame's shoulder, deep heart wrenching cries that broke kisame's heart as there was nothing he could say to help him.

They met Hidan and Kakuzu in the base hallway, and they both immediately noticed Itachi's despair. Glancing a concerned look at Itachi, Hidan asked 'what happened Kisame?'

'The mission didn't go well...Itachi...had a little run in with his brother.' Kisame said a little uneasily.

'Are you okay Itachi?' Kakuzu asked, a little concerned.

'yes, other that breaking my little brothers bones, beating him to pulp, using Mangekyo Sharingan on him and leaving him in Acoma, I'm fine...' Itachi said. They others looked at him silently, not knowing what to say, it was very rare Itachi used sarcasm. Hidan was about to laugh, but Kakuzu elbowed him in the ribs.

'What are you all doing here?' Sasori said, meeting them in the hallway.

'we just got back from a mission, why where are you going?' Kisame asked.

'I'm going to teach that brat what art really is!' Sasori said, not fulfilling Kisame answer and pushing past them.

'Ohh there's gonna be a fight, I'm going!' Hidan said gleefully, always loving fights, 'you coming guys!'

'I suppose so...'Kakuzu droned.

'Na I think me and Itachi are gonna head back to our room—'

'—I'm going, I haven't seen Deidara perform in a match yet.' Itachi said swiftly before following Sasori. The rest followed too, waiting out in the training grounds for Deidara to show up.

Deidara sat in the room, nervously taking off his bandages from his hands. The mouths had not healed fully yet, and it still looked a little infected, but he had to go, he couldn't let Sasori think he was weak anymore. He got his pouch full of clay and walked out of the room, trying to not think of all the poisonous puppets Sasori owned.

***Sasori's lesson 2***

'He's not gonna show...' Hidan said stretching his arms and yawning. They had been waiting in the training grounds for around 15minutes and there was no sign of Deidara.

'Maybe his hands haven't healed up yet.' Kisame said a little tense that this was a bad idea. He knew Sasori had a temper when he got impatient, and they were still waiting on Deidara.

'He'll be here...'Itachi said bluntly, 'leader-san would not have seeked Deidara if he didn't believe he was good enough.'

Sasori waited in the middle of the grounds, losing his patience. He flexed his fingers a few times, thinking they would soon need to be oiled up, but for now it didn't matter; it was only the brat he was fighting after all.

Finally Deidara walked into the training grounds, he stopped short just a few feet away from Sasori. He was nervous enough as it was, without seeing the other members to add to it.

'Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you any more brat, you disrespect me and you need to be taught a lesson.' Sasori said impassively. Deidara wondered if Sasori had ever gone easy on him, and he was pretty sure he told Sasori he respected his opinion on art, but by now he knew Sasori was a stubborn person and would not respect his fleeting art until he showed Sasori its power.

'Danna, I'm sorry if you feel like I disrespected you un...I really admire your art work un' Deidara said, trying to calm him down.

'you think that will get you out of fighting me brat?' Sasori said in his bored tone.

'JUST FIGHT ALLREADY!' Hidan shouted from the sidelines.

'SIT DOWN!' Kakuzu snapped, pulling his partner back down. As deidara's attention was at Hidan and Kakuzu, Sasori took this opportunity to shoot out a dozen kunai towards Deidara.

Deidara turned his cerulean eyes around in alarm and in lighting speed managed to dodge all but one of the kunai, which shot into his shoulder. Deidara hissed out in pain, grabbing his shoulder, thinking it unfair for Sasori to start without any warning.

'Lesson 1 brat; never take your eyes off your enemy!' Sasori said coolly. The others nodded, agreeing with Sasori, but was still impressed with Deidara's speed.

'You...you didn't give me any warning un' Deidara protested, pulling the dagger painfully out of his shoulder. Sasori grit his teeth in anger, just how stupid was this brat? In a flash of speed Sasori was behind deidara's back, and crashed his elbow into Deidara neck, sending him flying to the ground.

'Lesson 2, there is never any warning...when you are an Akatsuki member you will be attacked anywhere and everywhere you go, and they will use sneak attacks like I did to catch you off guard!' Sasori growled angrily.

Deidara slowly got up of the ground rubbing his neck, he moved it from side to side, cracking it; if Sasori had applied any more pressure he would have broken Deidara's neck.

He swept his golden blond hair out of his eyes and got into a defensive stance. With one flick of Sasori's hand a scroll appeared, and with a puff of smoke the "third Kazekage" puppet appeared, attached with blue glowing charka strings to Sasori's fingers.

The others gazed in interest; it has been a while since the saw Sasori battle with anyone other than Hiruko. Deidara dug his hand into his pouch and allowed his mouth hand to eat some clay. Sasori smirked and with a flick of his right hand several poisoned blades sprang out and shot towards Deidara, who leaped out of the way with tremendous speed. Sasori directed the blades to follow Deidara as he dodged again and again.

Deidara ignored the stinging pain of his mouth as it struggled to chew up the clay; he had to do it fast as he was running low on stamina. Soon the whole ground was covered in poisoned laced blades, so Deidara had to be careful were he stepped.

The others watched carefully. Deidara looked like a blur as he dodged Sasori's attack.

'His speed is impressive, he's able to avoid all of Sasori's attacks.' Itachi said.

'Yeah, but why isn't he attacking back yet?' Kisame said, looking at the blurred vision of Deidara. Itachi was wondering this too.

'It may take him a little longer to make his exploding clay, his hands hasn't healed fully yet.' Kakuzu replied.

Finally Deidara opened the palm of his hand and produced 3 sculpted white birds from his palm. He took one and with a single hand seal, enlarged it to 5 times its size. The bird flu with lighting speed towards Sasori and Deidara cried

'_KATSU!'_

A huge explosion erupted through earth and shook the ground beneath them. A cloud of smoke and dust erupted making it hard for Sasori and the rest to see.

When the cloud of smoke dispersed Deidara saw a shield of iron sand around Sasori protecting him and his puppet from the explosion.

Sasori recoiled from the shield with a small smile, 'this is why long lasting art is superior brat, my puppet still stand while you're stupid explosion is gone!'

Deidara bit his lip angrily, Sasori still didn't respect his view on art, and now he was mocking it. He had to prove to Sasori that he and his art was worth something, if he didn't gain respect from Sasori then they would never be equal as partners.

He had to think of a way to get by Sasori's barrier. When the exployision hit Sasori he used that puppets technique to stop the blast...but what if he somehow got his explosion to stick to Sasori's puppet before it detonates...then the puppet would have no way of shield itself, giving him a free shot at Sasori.

'I'm getting bored brat, either you try to attack me or give up and stop wasting my time.' Sasori said coldly. Deidara had only 2 bombs left, and he had to act fast if he wanted to win any respect from Sasori.

Suddenly wires shot out of Sasori's puppet and grasped a firm grip around deidara's waist, crushing his bones and constricting him. Deidara struggled trying to squirm out of the tight grasp. Blood shot up his lungs and out through his mouth and the wounds in his stomach started to reopen.

'Sasori's he had enough.' Kisame said looking slightly concerned.

'yeah fuck sake Sasori calm down you insane bastard!' Hidan said, looking hesitantly at Deidara.

Kakuzu wasn't usually one to feel empathy for, but watching this was making him uncomfortable too. Itachi stared on, with his Sharingan exposed. He could see the two bombs in deidara's hands.

'Have enough yet brat?' Sasori asked coolly, flexing the muscles in his fingers. He almost felt sorry for the brat, but he needed to be proven wrong.

'N-n-n-n-no' Deidara breathed, and the wires cut in even tighter like a boa constrictor. 'aaaaaggghhhhh'

'Just tell me you were wrong on your vision of art and I will loosen these ropes.' Sasori said, his eyes widening a little in the heat of battle. Deidara shook his head refusing to succumb, he had let go of all his dignity his whole life, all he had was his art and he refused to let that be taken from him too.

Sasori listened to Deidara squirm in pain, his eyes were bulging and turning blood shot and his waist was getting thinner as the rope cut into him. Sasori felt a ghost trace of emotion in his heart, like a little jolt of guilt, he was getting carried away, he anger controlling him again.

And for what? the brat had said he admired his puppets, even if he had a different view on what art was. Sasori had let his pride and anger carry him away and demand a battle with Deidara...this was teaching Deidara anything...he was just causing the brat pain.

Sasori was just about to loosen the wires when suddenly an explosion burst between them, blowing up the wire and making both Sasori and Deidara fall back to the ground from the impact. As Sasori slowly recovered from surprise and shock Deidara took this time to direct his last clay bird up along the wire until it touched Sasori's beloved puppet.

Sasori's eyes widened in horror, as did the rest of the members when Deidara; almost in slow motion, pulled his final hand seal and shouted;

'KATSU!'

A powerful explosion erupted through the grounds along with a cannon shot sound as wood, splinter and rubble blasted up into the air and fell crashing down into bits in on the ground.

Deidara breathed heavily, looking at his masterpiece. He relaxed his hand, and wiped the sweat off his face smiling; he had done it; he had got Sasori. Now he was sure he earned Sasori's respect.

Itachi, Kisame, Hidan and Kakuzu looked in horror at what Deidara had done. Bits of Sasori's favourite puppet covered the grounds...nothing more than bits of broken wood.

'Oh shit!' Hidan cursed, knowing exactly how Sasori was gonna react.

'this is not good.' Kisame said, his sharp eyes taking in the mess of what was left of Sasori's puppet.

The smoke finally started to clear and Sasori walked over to the rubble on the ground and picked up a piece of his puppet. His hand started to shake violently, his puppet was destroyed...his favourite puppet!

Deidara's heart stopped at the look he saw on Sasori's face; one of pure contempt and loathing. He watched as Sasori held a piece of wood, his angry mask quickly turning back to a emotionless stone wall. He suddenly realised that his whole idea had been a mistake. The though never occurred to him that damaging Sasori's puppet might result in trouble for him.

'un...un...Danna..un' Deidara immediately tried to explain, to say something to stop Sasori looking at him like that.

'Just...don't.' Sasori spoke in a death-like tone before turning away from Deidara and the rest of the group.

Deidara sank to his knees in total astonishment; it was not suppose to end like this...he had really thought he had gained Sasori's respect, but it had all gone wrong. Even though he had won the match, Deidara felt like the loser.

***Later that night***

Deidara finally walked back into the base, having spent all evening gathering up Sasori's broken puppet. He knew it was probably past repair at this stage, but maybe Sasori would find use for the broken wood pieces anyway...well to be honest he spend all evening outside because he was to afraid to face Sasori.

He walked down the long dark passage to the dining room, just in time for the evening dinner. When he entered he didn't know if he was relieved or concerned that Sasori was not there. He sat at his now usual place at the dinner, trying to ignore the looks the other members where giving him.

Pain had entered and sat at the table alongside Konan and was immediately suspicious by the lack of conversation at the table. Usually when all the members where together they would never shut up, but as the kmameshi and rice was passed around the table, the flow of conversation was mild.

'What happened with your mission?' Pain asked seriously to Itachi and Kisame. He knew they had failed and assumed this was the reason everyone was kind of tense.

'We ran into a little trouble with Kakashi and Jiraiya, if we had have stayed battening it would have gotten complicated.' Itachi replied monotone, picking at his rice. He neglected to tell pain the fact that he also saw his brother.

'I want that nine tails caught Itachi, do whatever you must to obtain it.' Pain replied seriously.

'yes leader-san.'

'Where is Sasori?' Konan asked, directing her question at Deidara, who hesitated.

'he...uh...'

'He was training with Deidara today, and is now fixing up his puppets' Kisame answered for him. Sasori was not fixing up any puppet, they all knew that, but the spared the effort of telling Pain the entire story.

'I see...have you been training when I was away Deidara?'

'uuuuhhh...'

'yes he has, I just gave him his new eye scope this week.' Kakuzu said. Pain looked at deidara's eye inspecting it with interest.

'good, then soon you will be able to follow Sasori on his missions.' Pain said. Deidara nodded, eating his rice slowly...he wasn't looking forward to having to go back to his room where Sasori was.

Deidara offered to clean up all the dishes, wasting as much time as he could before he had to go back to his room. After the last dish was cleaned, and the kitchen was neat and tidy Deidara decided he couldn't stall any longer and when back to his room.

He got a little lost walking back on his own, but finally found the door with the large scorpion symbol on it. Deidara took a deep breath and even though it was his room now too, he decided to knock.

After 3 gentle knocks, there was no answer. Deidara knocked harder the second time and suddenly the door flew open and there stood Sasori towering over him looking angry.

'Why the hell are you knocking? It's your room too!' Sasori spat, rolling his eyes. Before Deidara could say anything he turned away leaving the door open for Deidara.

Deidara walked in and gently closed the door, and looked back to Sasori who was sitting on his bench, working on something.

'I'm...un...I'm s-sorry about t-today Danna un' Deidara spoke softly, 'I...I didn't mean to destroy your favourite puppet un'

'...'

'It's just...I...I wanted to win your r-respect Danna, and I couldn't think of how else to do that un...' Deidara said, fidgeting with his sleeve nervously.

'...'

When Sasori continued to say nothing, Deidara's eyes fell to the floor in disappointment. He needed to get Sasori to talk to him, everyday he was losing him more and more, and if that happened he would never get Sasori to like him or respect him.

'I-I-I gathered up the wood from your p-puppet...m-maybe it will still be g-good to use un...' Deidara said hopefully. Sasori did not even look back at him.

'y-you could make a n-new puppet un, o-or remake y-your f-favourite one un...'

'...'

'y-you're so good at making them un...I w-wouldn't know how to un,' Deidara smiled weakly, 'I'd mess it all up un.'

'...'

A few minutes past by and Deidara still stood silently in the room, gazing at Sasori's back. He fidgeted nervously, looking around the room and trying to find something to say.

'What are you w-working on Danna un?' Deidara said in an interested tone, trying to make small talk.

Sasori set what he was working on down, then turned to meet Deidara's exposed eye, his gaze flat.

'Is that all your gonna do?' Sasori's eyes bored into deidara's 'Talk pointlessly to me?'

Deidara bit his lip, and looked down; this was actually worse than he thought...Sasori did not like him at all.

'Why don't you just go to bed.' Sasori said in a tone that suggested he just wanted Deidara out of his way. Deidara caught the tone making his insides squirm unpleasantly.

'Danna...please un,' Deidara said quietly, 'can't we just be friends—'

'—how do you possibly think I can re-make that puppet?' Sasori spat, catching Deidara off guard.

'I...I just thought—'

'—you come in to _my_ room, and waste my time with you useless chatter, and silly notions about being friends, do you have any idea who I am?' Sasori shouted his anger raising. Deidara stepped back a little frightened.

'un...un...'

'I'M SASORI OF THE RED SAND!' Sasori declared, 'and you think I want to make friends with stupid childish brats like you?'

'...' this time Deidara had nothing to say.

'You are in the Akatsuki now, so grow up and stop acting like a child!'

Deidara's eyes started to water and he bit his lip harder. Sasori caught his action and scoffed.

'What are you gonna start crying now?' Sasori demanded, pushing past his puppets and walking over to Deidara, who stepped back in fear.

'do you know how much work I put into that puppet?' Sasori demanded, 'just have some brat like you come and blow it up?'

'I'm...I'm sorry Danna...'

'and now you think your pretty tough don't you? Because you got one hit on me in front of the others, think your better that me?'

'What? No...never—'

'—your silly bombs aren't even art, it's just _mocking_ art!'

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mock you un—'

Sasori's eyes flashed in annoyance and stepped closer to Deidara;

'—AND _STOP_ WITH THAT ANOYING SPEECH HABIT!'

'I un un' Deidara tried to control it, but his nerves wouldn't allow him. Sasori glared dangerously.

'you mocking me again!'

'NO un, I'd never un...'

'Stop saying that then!'

'I...I can't un—'

'—I SAID STOP IT!' Sasori said reaching out to grab deidara's cloak. Deidara stepped back in alarm and stumbled on wires hanging from a puppet; he lost his footing and fell back crashing to the ground and brining the puppets and shelf with him.

'my puppets' Sasori whispered in alarm, reaching over and pulling Deidara away from them. The puppet lay twisted and broken from the fall.

'DANNA' Deidara said in horror 'I'M SO SORRY—'

_***SMACK***_

Deidara's head snapped back violently. Sasori had just back handed him brutally across the face. Deidara slowly let his hand reach his cheek feeling a burning sensation as his blue eyes met Sasori's. Sasori had a look of pure distain on his face.

'D-danna...'

'Get out'

'...'

'_I said get out_,' Sasori said grabbing Deidara by his cloak and shoving him out the door. Deidara hit the ground and before he could turn around Sasori slammed the door shut.

The feeling in his cheek didn't hurt as much as being thrown out by Sasori. Deidara crumpled up outside Sasori's door, leaning his head against the stone cave wall. It was dark and cold, and the air was damp. How did it become this bad? This morning he and Sasori were talking... now he was kicked out of their room.

How could he have let it get this bad? What went wrong? Tears started to burn in deidara's eyes, he took his eye scope out as it flooded up with water. He was a failure in everything he did...this was his one big chance to prove to Sasori he was something and to gain his respect as a fellow Akatsuki member, but he blow it.

Deidara reached into his pouch and took out the last piece of clay, his mouth hands went to work as he chews it up. No matter what he tried, the sculpture didn't turn out right...he chew the clay up and started again...this time moulding a new sculpture.

Sasori took his cloak off getting ready for bed. In the bathroom mirror he gazed at his reflection; he was now in his late twenties and he still remained the look of a teenager. He looked at the heart container in his chest and sighed; was he ever going to feel anything?

Last night when he got back from the mission and heard Deidara had been hurt, he was sure he felt panic...even worry. But how could he switch from that to hate...slapping Deidara hard across the face for no reason only to vent his anger.

The brat managed to get him in training today, and blow up his favourite puppet in front of all the other members. Sasori's eyes burned in humiliation; they probably though he was a joke now.

He noticed there was a spot of blood on his fingers from where he hit Deidara, and immediately felt guilt; he had hit him that hard? Sasori sometimes forgot his own strength since he never felt pain...he never felt anything. Sasori grit his teeth and angrily smashed the mirror. He was sick of feeling nothing, of being an empty shell. The only emotions he could feel was anger and it was driving people away from him; even the other members weren't as close to him as they were with each other.

He was gonna end up everlasting but alone...what was the point of living if he had nothing to live for?

Sasori hesitated, but walked out of the bathroom and reached of his door, opening it he saw Deidara curled up against the wall, with a piece of clay in his hands. Sasori reached down and picked Deidara up, carrying him back inside. The blond muttered in his sleep as his head fell against Sasori's shoulder.

Sasori tensed up a little, he was never this close to another human before; but he put Deidara back down on the bed, wiping away a little blood from his mouth. He hadn't exactly forgiven Deidara...but he hoped allowing the brat back in would help him sleep better tonight.

Sasori climbed into bed beside him and pulled the sheets over both of them. He was just starting to drift off to sleep when he heard Deidara mumble beside him.

'_F-father..p-please...d-don't..._'

Sasori turned around to face Deidara, noticing him squirm under the sheets. He remembered how Deidara cried a few nights ago and how Sasori could not comfort him, so he reached over and placed his hand on deidara's forehead, and immediately the mumbling stopped and Deidara relaxed.

Sasori had never did anything like that before and a sudden strange calm feeling spread over him, and he liked the feeling. From that Sasori had his first dream in twenty years.

*TO BE CONTINUED*

_Hi guys, I'm sorry this is a very long chapter, I just hada get a lot out of the way, I guess it's a little all over the place but it will be fixed up in the next chapters. I just wana get more into their relationship._

_I hope all you Sasori lovers don't hate me...I know I'm still making him out to be mean, but he is getting better don't you agree? I just don't want him to wake up suddenly and love Deidara..it has to happen naturally!_

_I added Jiraiya in this because Konoha will be playing a big part later on in the story. And I made him awesome because Jiraiya is awesome!^^_

_***Reply to Reviews***_

_**Moonharvest;**__ hehe yeah leave it to Hidan to do something crazy like that, but hes great!_

_**Narutouno2;**__ haha really? I hope people will like the yaoi part, I'm not very good at writing it so I kinda nervous!_

_**Shadownin1010;**__ hehe your review is very funny, I'm so happy you get excited about my update, it makes me feel extra special! Hehe but I hate to be the reason your getting yelled at your parents for! Yeah I love sasori's puppets too, I think he was just shocked when Deidara said that! Hehe Hidan loves to tease people. Haha yeah I did get a bad review but I'm glad cus it helped me, I think it's important and im glad the were truly honest. Hehe yeah this chapter was very long, I just had to add lots in...but I always end at chapter at the right time, even if its too short or too long. Haha thanks so much for the review, I know I have a true fan, and its great because it gives me that extra spark to get up and start writing the next chapter. I love when I know its being read by people like you! Hehe thanks so much and I'll update as soon as I can with more Sasori and Deidara goodness!^^_

_**Keono**__; haha yeah, big shock huh!^^ _

_**XSweetXSourXSoul;**__ haha calm down, I don't think Hidan meant it badly, but he survived so don't worry Deidara will be fine!^^ hehe thanks for the funny review!_

_**Missjasmin;**__ hehe yeah Hidan is so funny, even in the manga he always made me laugh!^^_

_**Deidarablondefox;**__ haha I didnt know if you were actually asking me to tell you want happens so I just left for you to read on...thanks for the review!_

_**Queentavia;**__ aww thanks so much, I do write kinda sad stories, but I always make up for it at the end!_

_**K.S.T.M;**__ hehe yeah hes not in trouble with pain now because Sasori is keeping it a secret...but remember hidan owes Sasori one now...so what will it be?_

_**Uchiha-dusk;**__ haha thanks, I worry that im keeping people waiting too long! Hehe and deidara's still alive, I would find it very hard to kill him, I love him to much!^^_

_**Redtori90;**__ haha thanks so much, I love when people are hooked to my story, it gives me lots more confidence! Haha cool I would love to read your stories. Yeah it's hard to write anything about rape because it's such a serious subject, but as long as it's not made fun off then it's okay (especially when I think of how Deidara will get his revenge!^^)_

_**Black55widow**__; yeah and I'm sorry I had to make him mean again...but he is becoming better slowly, I'm sure he will see Deidara in a new light soon!_

_**Jinx;**__ thank you for all your revies, I'm happy you are liking the story! Hehe yeah Hidan did go to far but you know him hes crazy!^^ thanks so much and see you in the next chapter!_

_**Tobifan66;**__ hehe I couldn't help but burst out laughing at your review, don't worry I won't scrap it, hehe so please don't beat me with a stick!^^_

_**Uchiha-dusk;**__ hehe thank you for correcting me, I don't notice because I'm not very good with spelling, I will know that in future to improve my English!^^_

_**The roses of colour;**__ thank you so much, hehe and loved your comment about the world ending!lol yeah Zetsu is a hard one because nobody really knows how he fights, I will have to look over the manga chapter with him and Sasuke fighting Kakashi and Naruto, thats the first time I really saw anything out of Zetsu!_

_**Sasodeifan1;**__ cool, thanks for reviewing, hope you enjoyed the chapter!:)_

_**Deisluv;**__ thanks so much for the review, its great knowing people are reading this fic!^^_

_**Deidielover495452;**__ great thanks so much for reading! YAY a new fan!^^ s you think the points are okay? Sometimes I feel the story is a little muddled up, up I try to get better everytime._

_**Kai and Umiki;**__ thanks so much, its great to hear!^^ _

_**Lily;**__ aww thanks so much, I get concerned sometimes with the plot, but I do have a ruff one figured out in my head, so its great to hear you like it!_

_**Superfan8;**__ haha yeah I wanted to make it out that the Akatsuki is very tuff and hard to train with compared to the schools. Yep Deidara will handle things, hes strong and hes getting stronger that he realises!_

_There I think I got everyone, since you take the time to review, I like to write back, if you would prefer me to write you privately just say, I get a lot of you wanting to know what happens next and asking me to tell you...I'm not sure I should give it away...eh...do you not prefer surprises? lol anyway if you have any other questions or ideas...or even criticism write me!^^_

_See ya's next time in Love me un!_

_Ninjashallow_


	13. Chapter 14 Deidara's Flight

Chapter 14 Deidara's Flight

***Iwagakure***

The Tsuchikage leaned back in his cushioned chair, as his servants fanned him. It was a hot day and the curtains were drawn back and the windows were open wide. He gazed out of the window into the distant forest, in deep thought.

'Ōnoki-sama, we have returned...' a guard said bowing in front of him.

'Well, what did you find?' the Tsuchikage replied stiffly.

'Nothing Leader-sama, we searched the entire forest, and found no trace of Deidara's body anywhere.' The guard replied.

'...I see.' The Tsuchikage said, stroking his triangle beard.

'I'm sorry sir, we will keep searching.'

'No, there's no point, instead inform the other villages of him, he may be hiding out in one of them, make sure they know he is a criminal of this village.'

'What if he's not wearing his headband, how will other villages know what to look for?'

'His hands you fool, who else have you ever come across that has mouths on their hands?'

'Yes sir.'

'Tell the other villages he's wanted dead or alive...preferably alive, I might as well have some fun with him again if I get him back!' the Tsuchikage said sickly with a smile as he stared at the tongues that was mounted in a jar.

***Akatsuki Base***

Deidara fluttered his eyes open slowly; the room was still dark, even though it was morning. Usually Deidara had trouble remembering where he was every morning he woke up, but quickly figured it out when he saw all of his partner Sasori's puppets in the room. He yawned and stretched in the bed, but suddenly speaking of his partner, he looked over beside him; the bed was empty.

Deidara sat up and looked around sharply, trying to remember how he even got into the bed, didn't Sasori kick him out last night? He ran a smooth hand over his bruised cheek where Sasori hit him last night and winced; it was still a little sore. Pulling the sheets off he got up, and quickly threw his Akatsuki cloak over his shoulders leaving the room.

He figured Sasori was in the kitchen along with everybody else and sure enough when he opened the door there sat Sasori with the rest at the breakfast table.

'Ah finally outta bed, about time!' Hidan said straight away smirking. Kakuzu looked too tired to say anything but Kisame lifted his head grinning;

'Good morning Kiddo' Kisame greeted, Itachi nodded beside him, moving over to make a spot for him to sit. Sasori however made no indication he even saw Deidara.

'Good morning un' Deidara replied quietly, he sat down awkwardly and looked towards Sasori 'urm g-good morning Sasori no Danna un...'

'...'

There was an awkward silence in the kitchen as Sasori didn't reply back...he didn't even lift his head from his coffee to look at Deidara.

'Hey puppet boy, the kid said good morning!' Hidan said to Sasori. Silence still followed as Sasori said nothing, just taking a sip of his coffee. Deidara looked down at his lap sadly. Sasori was still obviously angry about Deidara exploding his favourite puppet.

After a rather awkward few moments of silence and exchanged glances between the members Kisame tried to make conversation.

'So, any of you's got a mission today?'

'No the leader sent us nothing; he's waiting for the right time to go after the two tailed monster of Kumogakure.' Kakuzu replied.

'Yeah in the fucking sewers of Kumogakure! Why the fuck do we always get the lame missions?' Hidan said annoyed.

'What are you talking about? You get to go to the land of fire after that to collect the bounty!' Kisame argued.

'Big deal, that's still fucking lame, Pain always gives us the most boring missions with the least amount of kills,' Hidan said angrily, 'I mean he knows I worship Jashin, I need to fucking sacrifice more!'

'Hidan, you kill enough shinobi on missions as it is!' Kakuzu said in a tired tone.

'Not nearly enough Kakuzu, and what the fuck is with Pain giving us a mission to capture a jinchūriki without killing them? I can't fight an opponent and half kill them, It goes against my religion!'

'Hidan, shut up, it's too early in the morning for you to be talking this shit!' Kakuzu replied angrily.

Both Hidan and Kakuzu got into an argument, but Deidara wasn't listening, he was looking over at Sasori, trying to get his attention. Sasori was making a very good job of completely ignoring Deidara. His brown eyes started at his cup, and Deidara was wondering how long Sasori could stay angry at someone. Had he completely ruined his relationship with Sasori over one small accident?

'I'm not starting this argument again Hidan, just shut up and leave me in peace for five minutes will you!' Kakuzu said getting annoyed.

'I'm just saying that we get all the lame missions, why can't the leader give us bad ass missions like Itachi and Kisame huh?'

'What do you mean? We get the same missions as you!' Kisame said grinning.

'Oh yeah, what was your else mission again?' Hidan said sarcastically.

'going to the hidden leaf village?' Kisame said uncertain of where this was going.

'EXACTLY!' Hidan said suddenly, banging his fist on the table for dramatic effect, 'the hidden leaf village, how come we never get sent there? I would love to have a go with that copy-cat ninja Kakashi or that retarded bushy eye browed guy...you know the one...green spandex...' Hidan said trying to remember 'OH and Jiraiya, that fucking legend Jiraiya, how fucking cool would it be to say you killed him!'

Itachi bowed his head, letting his bangs cover his eyes as Hidan rambled on.

'We were up against Jiraiya.' Itachi said seriously.

'What? Did you fight him?' Hidan asked enthustically.

'Of course not, not you or I could defeat him, his power is too great.' Itachi replied darkly.

'So you chickened out? God your such pussy's, if I was there I would 'a fucked him up big time!'

'You would have died!' Kakuzu said angrily.

'No I wouldn't, I'm immortal idiot!'

'We were lucky to escape thanks to Itachi's Amaterasu.' Kisame said, smiling gratefully at his partner. Hidan scoffed and rambled on about how he could have taken Jiraiya on.

Sasori still didn't look at Deidara, who chewed on his toast half-heartily. Why couldn't he and Sasori be like the rest of the members, talking to each other easily? He still felt like an outsider, a stranger who didn't belong with all these fear-some ninja.

'I could take anyone on from the leaf village, ANYONE!' Hidan was now declaring. Itachi looked at him un-amused and Kakuzu just looked bored, like he was use to hearing this daily.

'I wouldn't have failed that mission, that nine tailed demon fox would have been mine! And any other loser in that village, even that copy nin Kakashi, who by the way I can't believe you left him alive, Itachi!' Hidan snorted, after hearing Kisame and Itachi left the battle without killing Kakashi when they had a chance.

Itachi's shoulders tensed, Kisame noticing this growled and turned to Hidan, 'Hidan that's enough...' Kisame warned, but Hidan ignored him.

'why the fuck did you let him live, you had him with your Mangekyo whatever you call it, if that was me I would have sliced his neck!'

Itachi's eyes hardened and he glared at the silver Jashinst.

'Not that it means anything to you Hidan, but our instruction was to capture the nine tailed fox and leave. I had no intention of starting unnecessary fights with anyone, and I had certainly no intention of killing anyone, especially Kakashi Hatake who is the primary carer of my younger sibling Sasuke!' Itachi snapped coldly, standing up gracefully and leaving the kitchen without another word.

Deidara blinked, a little shocked. Did Itachi really just say that? He would never have though the Itachi Uchiha who slaughtered his own clan would take no enjoyment in violence or combat, instead preferring to avoid battle.

'Hidan you idiot, you never know when to shut up do you?' Kisame said angrily.

'I'm sorry, it slipped out, I didn't know he was still hung up over all that!' Hidan said honestly.

'Stop mentioning his home town, it brings back painful memories for him!' Kisame snapped, looking wearily at Deidara.

'Hey it's not my fucking fault, he's a wanted criminal for fuck sake, he can't have that "I don't want to kill" attitude when you're in the Akatsuki!' Hidan replied angrily. At this point Deidara was so confused; it almost sounded like Itachi regretted killing his own clan.

'Just don't mention it again!' Kisame snapped. Hidan rolled his eyes leaning back on his chair.

'Oh great, fine, we will just talk about happy, fun stuff instead then,' he said sarcastically, 'I know, let's talk about rainbows huh, hey Deidara what's your favourite colour of the rainbow?' Hidan said suddenly addressing Deidara, who had been quiet this whole time.

'uh...urm..uh—' Deidara stuttered.

'—that's great, I love sunshine yellow myself—'

'oh forget it, your impossible you know that!' Kisame snapped, and left the kitchen after Itachi. Hidan sat back in his chair grinning.

'Happy now?' Kakuzu asked his partner frowning.

'God what is up with everyone today? Is everyone PMSing or something?'

Deidara smiled a little, he though Hidan's sense of humour was funny. Sasori however scoffed at his joke thinking it poor taste.

'So what the fucks up with you? Are you still crying over that stupid puppet?' Hidan asked Sasori.

'Don't even go there...' Sasori warned, not looking up from his book.

'God, you're like a kid who got his candy taken away from him, can't you just let it go? It was an ugly puppet anyway; Deidara probably did you a favour!'

That got Sasori attention as he looked up, his eyes like slits and a dangerous aura coming from his charka.

Deidara's eyes widened in alarm and he looked at Hidan shaking his head, silently pleading for Hidan to stop; this was gonna make Sasori even angrier. Hidan however winked at Deidara and continued, loving how he could easily rattle Sasori's cage.

'You got shown up by a little kid, that's pretty embarrassing, guess you're not the top cat round here any more...' Hidan said, barely able to contain his laughter. Kakuzu shook his head; he knew where this was heading as his partner had a knack for getting himself into trouble even early in the morning.

'I could break every bone in that brat's body with my hands tied behind my back!' Sasori replied coldly. Deidara gulped, not liking where this argument was going.

'I don't know...he seemed to own you yesterday in the training grounds, I bet he could take you out with just one explosion!' Hidan retorted.

'Hidan please—' Deidara tried to reason, but Sasori suddenly glared in his direction.

'—is that what you think brat?' Sasori demanded angrily, 'you think you can really take me on? Think your better than me?'

'What? NO I-I didn't say—'

'—just after one fight, you think you know everything? You wouldn't last two seconds on a mission, you would be dead the minute you leave this base, if I don't end up killing you myself!' Sasori shouted standing up and glaring daggers at Deidara.

'Danna I'm s-sorry, I would n-never think that un' Deidara stuttered helplessly, wondering how the conversation suddenly became about him.

'Well good, because you will never live up to me or my standards, you got of easily last night, I should have beaten some sense into you—'

'wow wow wow, Sasori what are you talking about, did you hit him?' Hidan said suddenly, a little alarmed by Sasori's temper. He didn't mean for Sasori to put his anger out on Deidara.

'No it was m-my f-fault un—'

'—is that a bruise on your face...' Hidan said suddenly cupping Deidara's face in his hands, 'Sasori you fucking psycho, why did you hit him?' Hidan demanded angrily. Even Kakuzu leaned over surprised at the bruise Deidara had tried to hide with his blonde hair.

'No, it's really okay, I deserved it un...'

'Fuck sake Sasori, you really are a fucking mental case, why did you hit him, he's your partner?' Hidan shouted, he knew it was common for Akatsuki members to fight; him and Kakuzu fight all the time and sometimes got physical...but this bruise was harsh, Sasori really didn't know his own strength.

'The stupid brat tripped over my precious puppets, so I punished him!' Sasori said simply. 'And I will do it again if he ever touched one of my puppets again...and he is _not_ my partner!' Sasori said coldly before walking out of the kitchen and slamming the door behind him.

Deidara looked down at the floor dejectedly, a tear running down his freshly bruised cheek. Sasori really hated him, no matter what he did, no matter how much he apologised, Sasori still would not call him his partner.

'...I'm sorry Deidara...I didn't mean to bring you into that...I always wind Sasori up but I didn't think he would turn on you instead of me.' Hidan apologised awkwardly. Kakuzu sighed...this had been a rough morning. Deidara nodded, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

'S'okay un...Danna would have said it to me eventually un'

Hidan looked awkwardly at Kakuzu.

'You two still not getting along?'

'No un...no matter what I do, it's not good enough for him un...has...has he always been like this with you guys?'

'No...' Kakuzu admitted truthfully, 'well he wasn't too fond of Hidan when he first came, but after time he excepted him, Sasori has never really been one for company, he truly detested his previous partner.'

'Pervious partner? Sasori had a partner before me? What happened to him un?' Deidara asked surprised; although he wasn't sure if he wanted to know...what if Sasori killed him?

'Orochimaru was his partner, I don't know if you've heard of him, but he fled the Akatsuki after a...urm...certain incident.' Kakuzu said to put it tamely.

'Yeah so don't take it personal kid, Sasori always complains about having a partner, it's pretty normal... Kakuzu here killed all his previous partners before he met me!' Hidan said fondly.

'That's because I can't kill you Moran!' Kakuzu retorted, receiving an elbow in the ribs from Hidan.

Deidara's stomach felt nauseous hearing that, he didn't feel better at all now that he knew Akatsuki members could get away with killing their partner because they can just be replaced. The thought of him being replaced by somebody else made Deidara feel nervous. What if Sasori kills him, just so he can get a new partner...a better partner...someone who didn't break his puppets and get him angry all the time. Deidara suddenly lost his appetite for breakfast and got up from the table.

'Get ready kiddo, my partner and Itachi still have to fight with you!' Hidan said smirking to his partner Kakuzu.

Hearing this made Deidara feel even more sick, he had heard of Itachi's combat skill...and his Mangekyo Sharingan and Kakuzu looked like the type that shouldn't be messed with, his red/green pupils stared up at Deidara seriously.

'Erm...okay un' Deidara said trying to sound confident. He left the room without a backward glance and ran down the long cave base until he finally reached Sasori's room.

Deidara's eyes widened as he opened the door, and saw Sasori with his back to him with no cloak on. Sasori turned around half way and met deidara's surprised eyes, before turning fully around for Deidara to view him. A holder with four scrolls was on his back, and his chest held a compartment with a long thick wire coiled like a metal snake, Deidara also noticed his eyes widened unnaturally.

'uh...you...your...a...a p-puppet?' Deidara stuttered shocked. Sasori raised a thin shaped eyebrow, his auburn eyes boring coldly into deidara's blue ones.

'Do I look human to you?' Sasori replied sarcastically.

'No...I...I just though...I...I didn't know you c-changed your body...I... un' Deidara tried to say, staring at his puppet body. He couldn't help but notice the smooth curves of muscle on his upper chest beside a container with red kanji written on it.

'I changed my body into a puppet 16 years ago allowing me to preserve my body and increase my own physical capabilities while making me immortal.'

'You...you mean you will live forever un?'

'Yes... unlike you brat, my method of art is virtually indestructible, I am immune to hindrances that would normally affect a human's body such as fatigue, muscle failure, and pain, allowing me to move at full strength for extended periods of time.'

'What if your puppet body got damaged un?' Deidara shyly asked, avoiding using the word "blown up".

'Hmpt if my body where to be smashed I can simply draw the prices back together, additionally I can transfer my heart into other puppets allowing me to live in empty shells; none of your foolish explosions will ever defeat me brat!' Sasori said coldly.

Deidara stared in amazement at his partner's body; it truly was a work of art. Had he been kidding himself this whole time about what art was? Looking at Sasori Deidara felt inferior; Sasori was virtually indestructible...Deidara felt weak even in his presence. Without thinking he reached his hand over and touched the smooth wooden shell of Sasori's body.

Sasori stiffened upon feeling deidara's hand but relaxed a little when he realised the kid was just curious. He had never been touched like this, rarely had he ever allowed a human to come this close.

Deidara ran the tips of his hand along the rock hard surface of Sasori's chest all the way down to the thick metal cable coiled in the centre. The feeling was smooth but also strangely cold...like it had never been touched before.

Sasori closed his eyes briefly, trying to distinguish the emotion he was feeling; this new sensation of Deidara's warm hand on his cool shell. The feeling made him relax inside, he had never felt this way since he lived with his grandmother almost 25 years ago.

'Beautiful...' Deidara murmured to himself.

'What did you say?' Sasori suddenly asked, stirring Deidara out of his trance.

'I...I meant your body...urm your puppet body...it's...its beautiful work...uh' Deidara stuttered nervously, he didn't mean to say any of that out loud. Sasori suddenly snapped his hand away violently.

'Do not ever touch me again!' Sasori snapped, grabbing his cloak quickly, mentally thanking his puppet body for not being able to blush.

'Sorry danna un...' Deidara said bowing his head slightly.

'What are you doing in my room anyway? You have already dressed!' Sasori said raising an eyebrow.

'I just came to get my clay un.' Deidara replied, ignoring the fact that Sasori still believed that the room was only his.

'Why? What are you planning to destroy next?' Sasori asked coldly, with a slight disapproving tone. Deidara shook his head immediately.

'Oh no Danna un, I'm not gonna destroy anything, I'm just gonna train with Kakuzu and Itachi-san un!'

'hmpt their sparring with you? That should be interesting.' Sasori said, knowing full well the brat didn't have a hope.

'Do you wana come watch Danna...urm...to support me un?' Deidara asked hopefully, fidgeting with his cloak sleeve again. Sasori turned to him with a spiteful look.

'No, I don't care about you, or your training, personally I hope Itachi slays you like his clan...and Kakuzu; he will know every move you try, his Taijutsu and intelligence is way higher that a brat like you could ever dream of achieving, I'm astonished he has even considered sparring with _you_!' Sasori said his tone laced with venom. Deidara hung his head low, allowing his blond hair to cover his face.

Ignoring Sasori he reached over to his bed side desk and grabbed his clay bag and left the room in silence. Sasori stood there stunned, a little surprised by his lack of argument. Maybe the brat finally agreed with him; still the empty room made him feel a little quiet...had his words hurt the brat that much that he just left.

Sasori sat down on the bed, alone in the bedroom. It was true he was still angry with Deidara over the puppet, it seemed everything Deidara did was just hopeless pathetic attempts to please him, but Sasori did not see the potential in him as a member of the Akatsuki, let alone his partner.

He sighed quietly and rubbed a delicate hand through his messy burgundy hair. He looked over at the table where Deidara took his clay and noticed a small clay sculpture. Frowning slightly he picked it up to exam it closely...and his eyes widened;

It was at tiny miniature model of his favourite puppet the third Kazekage; the one Deidara had blown up.

Sasori shook his head in disbelief and examined it closer; it was perfect in absolute detail, down to the swift joints and body texture. Sasori could not believe it. Deidara had remembered every inch of detail just from memory and re-created it perfectly.

Sasori quickly got up from the bed and went straight to the training grounds.

*******Konohagakure ****Village***

Jiraiya walked through the Konoha street, greeting the villagers and pretty women as he passed. He walked up the street and met Kakashi, who stood waiting casually.

'Kakashi, I glad to see your feeling better.' Jiraiya said, patting him on the back. Kakashi smiled back weakly.

'All thanks to Tsunade, she woke me up from Acoma, and healed most of the damage,...they got away?' Kakashi asked.

'Yes, Itachi used his Amaterasu to escape, him and his partner fled.' Jiraiya said seriously.

'It's lucky you came in time, I figured they are after Naruto?'

'Yes, I believe it's the Akatsuki's goal to capture all of the jinchuuriki, if I hadn't have came they could have took Naruto, and god knows what Itachi would have done to Sasuke...how is he anyway?' Jiraiya asked.

'Physically he's fine, Might Guy managed to get him to Tsunade on time...'

'I can't believe Itachi would do that to his own brother!'

'That's not our only problem though...'

'What do you mean?'

'Sasuke, him and Naruto just had a fight, I had to separate them, he almost used chindori on him, and Naruto used Rasengan.'

'That idiot, I did not teach him that to use against friends!' Jiraiya said angrily.

'Sasuke's obsession for getting revenge on Itachi is getting out of control, I need to have a word with him, and I was hoping you would do the same with Naruto.'

'Sure I will.'

'thanks. So where did you just come back from?' Kakashi asked, changing the subject.

'I passed through Iwagakure,' Jiraiya said, 'paid the Tsuchikage a visit.'

'hmmm I haven't been there in a long time, is the village still as bad as ever?'

'yes, worst even, I swear Kakashi their methods of doing things is completely different to ours. I feel sorry for the villagers, the Tsuchikage had a jar in his room of two tongues he cut of a kids hand for punishment, then the beat him to death in a forest!'

'Are you serious? That's pretty extreme, that village has always been ruthless.'

'Yeah, then he gave me a lecture on how we treat our village, I glad Konoha would never stoop that low.'

'hmmm we are fortunate to be from this village.' Kakashi said after a moment. 'I cloud never even dream of punishing any of the kids like that, no matter what their crime.'

'anyway keep an eye on Sasuke,' Jiraiya said, 'also you should know Orochimaru has fled the Akatsuki and has been spotted roaming around different villages...I don't know what he's planning or what he's up to, but we have to keep an eye on him!' 

***Akatsuki Training Grounds***

Deidara fell back to the ground in agony, after receiving a harsh blow to his abdomen. Kisame, Hidan and Itachi felt it too as the heard a sickening crunch; he must have broken some ribs. Deidara steadied himself on his foot, spitting out a cup full of blood. So far since the match had started Deidara couldn't get one hit at Kakuzu, he couldn't hardly keep his defence up either.

Kakuzu had started the fight without giving Deidara any pointers, simply saying to not waste time with enemies by talking long-drawn speeches or useless, rushed attacks. Deidara didn't have time to ask questions as Kakuzu dove straight in with brute strength kicking Deidara in the side of his head.

Deidara was amazed by Kakuzu's speed and strength, he was not allowing much time for Deidara to create a clay bomb, anytime he saw Deidara reach for his pouch, he assaulted him instantly.

'You don't think Kakuzu will use any of his elements on Deidara do you?' Kisame said looking at Hidan.

'Na, he wouldn't waste his time, besides the fight looks nearly over, the kids gonna pass out soon!' Hidan replied, looking fondly at his partner. Itachi observed the fight silently, knowing that if Deidara passed out, he wouldn't get his turn to fight him.

Time went on and as Deidara looked beaten, Kakuzu wasn't even breaking a sweat; instead he looked quite bored, like he was just doing this to pass time. Deidara finally manages to break away a piece of his clay with Kakuzu's stretchy vines lashing him.

Deidara squeezed the clay into the palm of his hand, allowing his mouth to chew it up. Kakuzu looked closely at Deidara, observing what he was doing. In all his ninthly years of living he had seen a lot of different technique in his life, but never deidara's...his was rare. He was rather unsure of how he made the clay explode, but after seeing his method of chewing the clay in his palm mouth, he figured that's how he infused the charka to explode it.

Deidara jumped a safe distance away, and wiping the blood from his mouth, he realised his hand and threw the clay sculpture up in the air. Everyone looked as the little clay bird took flight in the sky and disappear out of range.

'Ha, his bomb was a dud, it didn't even detonate!' Hidan shouted to his partner Kakuzu, who looked up and sure enough the bomb was nowhere to be seen.

At that moment Sasori reached the training grounds and sat down with the others.

'Sasori, your just in time, Deidara here is about to get it!' Hidan said laughing. Sasori observed the fight, noticing how Deidara was indeed standing with one knee on the ground, barely enough energy to keep himself up. He was breathing heavily, with sweat and blood running down his fore head.

'Give up yet Deidara?' Kakuzu said seriously, looking at the exhausted kid. Deidara shook his head and heaved himself on both feet, but stumbled and fell back again, his bones where to sore to stand.

I need that clay bird to come back Deidara though, wincing, his vision becoming blurred and hazy. He saw a red blur far behind Kakuzu, where the rest of the members sat watching...was that Sasori?

Deidara squinted his eyes more, and sure enough his partner was sitting alongside Itachi, Hidan and Kisame, looking straight at him.

'Come on Kaz, finish him off already!' Hidan yelled to his partner form the sidelines.

'Shut up!' Kakuzu snapped back, not wanting any distractions from his partner in the middle of a fight. Hidan pouted and sat down again.

'Gawd, the thanks I get for cheering on my partner!' he said pouting. Sasori looked from Hidan back to Deidara, and stood up, rubbing his thumb over the little clay sculpture Deidara made.

'Don't let your guard down brat!' Sasori said in an encouraging tone, surprising everyone, even Deidara.

'What the fuck?' Hidan said surprised, was Sasori actually cheering Deidara on? Kisame mouth opened in surprise, but a small smile crept on Itachi's face.

'Enough fooling around, this ends now.' Kakuzu said, getting bored. He drew out his long vine threads and wrapped them around deidara's neck in lighting speed. Deidara gagged, struggling underneath them, choking.

'Now do you give up?' Kakuzu said, getting impatient and tugging on the threads violently. Just as it looked like Deidara was about to strangle to death, his form started to melt into white running substances, covering Kakuzu's thick threads.

'WHAT?' Kakuzu said, his eyes widening.

'THE FUCK?' Hidan shouted standing up.

'A CLAY CLONE!' Sasori said, also standing up surprised.

Deidara's form melted into a pool of messy clay, and Kakuzu's eyes spun around the training grounds trying to find his true form. Suddenly up in the sky, the clay bird from earlier came flying by and enlarged 10 times its size, catching a falling Deidara in mid air and soaring across the sun.

Everyone gasped, standing up shocked. Deidara could fly?

After taking a graceful double turn in the air, Deidara came plummeting forwards on his clay bird down on Kakuzu and a huge explosion erupted through the entire grounds making the earth shake like an earthquake.

Itachi, Hidan and Sasori shielded their eyes as Kakuzu was lost in a cloud of smoke taking the full force of Deidara attack. Sasori, Itachi, Kisame and Hidan were all standing now, waiting for the smoke to settle to see what happened.

As the thick smoke dispersed, Kakuzu's hazy form appeared much to everyone's surprise on all fours on the ground, with Deidara standing over him, breathing hard.

'You used a clay clone?' Kakuzu said finally after a few minutes.

'Yeah un...' Deidara replied, catching him breath heavily. He took a defence stance waiting for Kakuzu to strike. Kakuzu looked up at him, and shook his head.

'You were able to catch me off guard, and attack me...something no ninja as young as you has ever done...were finished training here.'

'Wait f-finished un?' Deidara asked confused. Kakuzu looked up with a hint of a rare smile.

'believe me Deidara, you did good...none of the other members have ever got me the first time in sparring...Hidan will never let me live it down!' Kakuzu said looking over at his partner.

Deidara looked over too, Hidan was on the ground laughing at Kakuzu, Kisame and Itachi was looking shocked, but Sasori stood there silently, staring at Deidara with emotionless eyes; Deidara could not read any expression from his face. Deidara looked back down at his feet sadly; he was disappointed to see Sasori show no hint of any emotion, even Itachi's face held shock and surprise instead of his usual passive expression.

Kakuzu dusted of the smoke from his robe, and cracked his muscles back into shape. The blow was very strong, but Kakuzu was able to mead himself quickly. He didn't expect Deidara to physically hurt him much anyway, but was surprised he managed to get a hit in.

'Since when did you learn how to fly like that?' Kakuzu said, narrowing his eyes.

'Just now un...I used all my charka to expand the bird bigger to carry my body weight...I uh figured it was the only way I could get a shot at you un' Deidara said bashfully.

'Leader-san will be happy to know there is now a flyer in our Organization...but you will have to work on it, you can't allow it to eat up all your charka in one go!' Kakuzu replied seriously.

Deidara nodded, and turned his head when he heard pounding footsteps run up to them.

'HA IN YOUR'E FACE KAKUZU! You got beaten by a kid!' Hidan was first to yell in his partners face. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes and growled.

'Hidan, I'm warning you...'

'ha first Sasori and now you! Looks like the only one that can take a kid in this organization is ME!'

Deidara looked alarmed as Sasori heard that, and hoped Hidan would shut up soon, every time he insulted Sasori it somehow always managed to get back to him. Luckily Sasori chose not to remark.

'What next huh? Are you gonna get owned by this kid Itachi?' Hidan said, elbowing Itachi in the ribs playfully. Deidara's eyes widened alarmed, he forgot he had to fight Itachi.

Itachi nudged Hidan away, and caught deidara's eyes.

'you're out of charka, and my eyes still need to rest from my last mission, we will continue your sparring another day.' Itachi said calmly. Deidara eyes creased, he got the feeling Itachi didn't feel him worthy to battle; Itachi picked up on this and smiled slightly.

'I'm sorry, I promise we will train some other time _Sas_—'Itachi's widened his eyes alarmed and all the other members looked at him in shock. He had almost said his brother's name instead of Deidara...this scene was too familiar. Itachi's mouth bobbed open for another few seconds before he finally corrected himself '...Deidara.'

Deidara looked at him a little confused, why did he almost call him somebody else? With that Itachi walked away, and Kisame followed him concerned. Hidan's eyes went back and he whistled lowly.

'Wow...AWKWARD!'

'Shut up Hidan!'

'Fuck you, I'm not gonna take orders from somebody that's just gotten nailed by a kid!' Hidan retorted loudly. Kakuzu growled angrily, and grabbed Hidan dragging him inside. They argued the entire way until it was just silence as Sasori and Deidara were left in the training grounds.

Deidara fidgeted nervously, as the silence went on and Sasori stared at him coldly.

'What did you think of my flying un Danna?' Deidara asked timidly. Sasori's cold gaze studied him a little before answering.

'I don't see the point of it, if you used up all your charka...'

'b-but I can get better un...I can develop it so that I won't use up any charka to fly un' Deidara said quickly. Sasori looked unconvinced as he continued to stare at Deidara.

'I suppose it could be useful for long-range attacks...' Sasori said after a moment. Deidara's eyes lit up when he heard this.

'Yeah, yeah un I could—'

'Since your close combat skills are dreadful...' Sasori finished bluntly. Deidara's eyes widened a little.

'They're not that bad un...' Deidara said quietly, knowing full well he really shouldn't start an argument with Sasori, but he had enough of being put down.

'Is that so? How come you only rely on your silly bombs and clay while battling?'

'What? I—I don't un...' Deidara said desperately, wondering why Sasori was still acting this way with him. Why did he have to call deidara's art "silly bombs"?

'Hmpt, you blow a kids hand off at the academy, when you could have just fought him instead, that might not have gotten you thrown out of the village!' Sasori retorted, watching deidara's eyes visible widen.

'y-you k-know about that un?' Deidara asked shocked, his heart beating loudly against his chest.

'I was there, on the roof top, I saw everything...not very popular with your fellow students where you?' Sasori said cruelly, but having no idea why...he had never been popular with any of his class mates either. Deidara lowered his eyes shamefully. If Sasori was there then he must have heard them bully him and call him a freak. No wonder he was so weak in Sasori's eyes...he was seen being weak before they even met.

'...I...they...wouldn't stop...I had enough un...I couldn't take it anymore...' Deidara said slowly, his long bangs covering his eyes. Sasori suddenly felt ashamed of himself for being so cruel, he of all people knew how this felt. Looking away awkwardly he took the small clay model out of his pocket and set it in his palm.

'Deidara...' Sasori said softly, his brown eyes staring down at Deidara miserable form. He had brought it out here to thank Deidara, and compliment him on his impressive talent for sculpting.

'Yes un?' Deidara said not lifting his head.

'...' Sasori looked down at his palm again; '...work on your flying, your no use to me on missions if you can't control your charka!' Sasori snapped, squashing the small clay sculpture up in his palm and pocketing it. He had really tried to say thanks, but could not bring himself to do it. Could not bring himself to say two small words of appreciation. Feeling angry at Deidara for making him feel this way, and even more angry at himself he turned on his heel and stormed away from Deidara.

Deidara stood there sadly, his eyes trailing where Sasori stormed off, wondering why he just suddenly left... was it something he said? Deidara was just about to follow him out of the training area, when suddenly the earth shook slightly and Zetsu appeared out of the ground surprising Deidara.

'Were back.'

'**Did we miss all the fun**?'

'what un?' Deidara asked, a little shocked at the fact he heard both sides talk.

'oh Deidara-kun, training hard I see?'

'urm yeah un' Deidara replied a little unsurely.

'**Hmm you need to be, we just passed by your village, they found no trace of your body in the forest and expect you to still be alive**.'

Deidara's eyes widened a little hearing this. This whole time trying to please Sasori and train, he completely forgot about his village...or former village, Deidara reminded himself. Since the training was so intense, he had no energy to dream at night, hence no bad nightmares of the Rock village.

'Do they k-know?'

'That you're in the Akatsuki, I expect not, but they will soon, once you go on your first mission, the word will spread like wild fire.'

'**And then they will what your head on a spit then!**'

Deidara's eyes hardened, there was no way he was ever going to let them touch him again. Zetsu saw his body stiffen, and regretted his words; perhaps it was too soon to bring up his village again, Deidara seemed more satisfied to forget about it. Now that Zetsu thought about it, he had seen Deidara in a while, all of his former bruise's where completely healed and he looked in great shape already.

'**I see your physical statue's is improving greatly Deidara-kun.'**

Deidara looked down at his body surprised.

'R-really?' he hadn't much noticed, but the Akatsuki training methods was completely different and more intense that what was at the academy.

'Yes, you won't really notice it on yourself, but I bet if you compare your body to your class-mates now, you will see a radical difference.'

Deidara felt some pride build up in him hearing that, why couldn't Sasori say things like that?

'Who is your partner Zetsu-san?' Deidara quizzed, he had not seen much of Zetsu since being here in the Akatsuki.

'No need for formalities Deidara, and I have no partner, I am the Akatsuki's spy.'

'hmmm...I bet Sasori no Danna wishes he was the Akatsuki's spy, then he would get his wish of having no partner...' Deidara said miserably. Zetsu raised his eyebrow.

'I presume you are partnered with Sasori? He was never one for company.'

'**I take it you too are not getting along?**'

'No un...I try to win his respect, but he keeps putting me down...nothing I do satisfy him.'

'**it took a while of most of the members to gain Sasori's respect and friendship...especially Hidan, but eventually he will lower his guard...**' Zetsu replied. Deidara looked surprised at this information and quickly asked;

'Lower his guard? You mean Sasori chooses's not to trust people? Why un?'

'Like you Sasori has been betrayed by people in the past, I don't think he would approve of me telling you this but he was ridiculed and exiled from his village...I remember when he first joint the Akatsuki, he kept only to himself and shunned everyone else, eventually he made a bond with Kakuzu, and opened up, but then he was partnered with Orochimaru, and his guard went up again...also with his body transformed to a puppet his human emotions began to drastically decrease, until he only knows defensive mood like anger and such.'

'Wow...I just thought he was a cold person...'Deidara replied miserably.

'like us all, he has his reasons for hating his village and joining the Akatsuki...we are all more alike than you think.' Deidara looked down at his shoes, thinking hard.

'Zetsu...did you all spy on me when I lived in Iwagakure un?'

'**Yes, how did you know**?'

'Sasori told me he saw the other kids bully me...did...did yous ever spy on me in my house?'

'...I believe Sasori again was to wait outside your window one morning but came late...'Zetsu said, wondering why he asked. Deidara nodded, and after a few moments asked what he dreaded to know.

'Zetsu...did...did any of you spy on me when I was taken to the Tsuchikage for blowing my class-mates hand off?'

Zetsu stood silently, thinking...he watched as Deidara waited nervously for his answer, taking a large deep breath, Zetsu sighed and said;

'...Yes, we did.' They both said slowly.

Deidara closed his eyes hard, and felt colour rush up into his cheeks and his head feel light. Zetsu knew...he saw what happened, what the Tsuchikage did to him. Did they others know now?...did Sasori know? As if Zetsu read his mind he quickly added;

'**We have told no-one but Leader-sama...**'

Deidara winced inwardly, and let in a harsh intake of air, his leader knew?

'I'm sorry for what was done to you...' Zetsu added, not really sure on how to comfort Deidara, who looked as while as a sheet of paper.

'...please...d-don't tell Sasori un' Deidara quickly demanded, shocked and ashamed that someone knew his secret. Zetsu frowned slightly, wishing Deidara did not blame himself over the abuse, but it sounded to him like Deidara was completely ashamed.

'**We won't...**'was all Zetsu replied, looking sadly down at Deidara. A few minutes passed by silently, as Deidara wiped a few loose tears off with his sleeve. When he finally composed himself he looked at Zetsu and spoke;

'Zetsu, how would you like to train with me un?' he asked, wanting to change the subject, and his weak emotions.

'Train?...are you...I mean are you sure you want to now?' Zetsu asked a little uncomfortable, just a minute ago, Deidara cried tears over the cruel abuse, and now he wanted to fight?

'Yes un' Deidara quickly replied, getting into a fighting stance.

'You seem exhausted from your fight with Kakuzu, are you sure you have enough energy left?'

'I have to un, if I don't keep training, I won't be strong enough to take on my village!' Deidara demanded desperately, cracking his knuckles...he was gonna show Sasori how strong he was and that his combat skills were just as good as his! Zetsu smiled slightly at his determination, and crouched down, splitting himself in half...it had been a long time since he sparred with any of the members or even used his abilities other than to spy with; this was gonna be a fun match!

***Later that night***

The members sat around the table, talking idly with each other. Hidan and Kisame was playing cards while Sasori and Kakuzu read silently.

'Not again! God Damm it Kisame you fucking win everytime—EVEN WITH ME CHEATING!'

'Haha quit your complaining and pay up!' Kisame grinned, mixing up the cards again.

'Where is Itachi?' Kakuzu asked Kisame.

'He went to bed, his eyes are still tired after using Amaterasu back in Konoha...' Kisame replied.

'God, what a pussy!' Hidan scoffed playfully, 'he always comes back from missions tired!'

'Better that than coming back with missing limbs!' Kakuzu retorted remembering the amount of times he had to stitch his partner up. Hidan rolled his eyes but said nothing.

'Hey Sasori where is Deidara?' Kisame asked. Sasori looked up from his book and shrugged.

'How should I know?'

'eh, cus your his partner!' Hidan said smirking, Sasori narrowed his eyes.

'He's outside with Zetsu, I can feel his charka.' Kakuzu said. Sasori felt the air, and sure enough he could feel Zetsu's charka mingled with deidara's...come to think of it, Sasori felt deidara's charka harder, and felt a strange liking to it...it was calm, and passionate, yet had a strange trustworthy feel to it, Sasori couldn't put his finger on it.

'...What do you guys feel, when you sense each other's charka?' Sasori suddenly asked, surprising the rest of the members. It was very rare for Sasori to start a topic on his own, but Sasori didn't care, he never felt this way; he was curious and had to know.

'Hmm good question, when I sense Itachi's I feel...peace, quietness, yet a burning flare...like black fire, his is quiet and deadly, just like him.' Kisame said fondly, 'and he told me he feels strength and intuition, like a raging sea radiating from me...'

Hidan exploded out in laughter, holding his sides in pain. Even Kakuzu smiled, amused at his partner.

'How poetic!' Hidan said howling with laughter. Kisame furrowed his eyes annoyed,

'Well then what do you two feel when you sense each other's charka?' he shot at Hidan and Kakuzu;

'Selfish, money possessed uptight, greedy bastard!' Hidan replied at once.

'Stupid, crazy, bloodlust, moronic son of a bitch!' Kakuzu said seriously, motioning to Hidan.

'Hey you leave my mother outta this!' Hidan yelled.

'Why do you care? You killed the bitch...'

'...Oh yeah, hahaha' Hidan laughed. Kisame rolled his eyes and looked back down at his book, that wasn't a very helpful answer.

'Why? What made you ask that?' Kisame asked curiously.

'Yeah, what do you feel with Deidara?' Hidan teased.

'Nothing!' Sasori quickly replied, thanking god he could not blush. Hidan didn't seem convinced and pushed further.

'Come oooon, what's his charka like to you?'

'Nothing, just forget about it okay!' Sasori snapped. Suddenly Deidara and Zetsu came through the door, Deidara looking exhausted.

'What where you's doing?' Kisame said, looking a little alarmed at deidara's state.

'**We were sparing, Deidara has become quite good.' **The black side said.

'Yes I can see what leader-sama sees in him'

Sasori raised an eyebrow, and the others nodded looking pleased. Deidara smiled up at Zetsu, even though he felt like he was gonna collapse.

'Cool, I still can't believe you can fucking fly! That was seriously cool!' Hidan said making space for Deidara to sit down.

'Yes, very impressive, leader-sama will be happy.' Kakuzu said.

'You certainly have come a long way from when you first joined.' Kisame added.

Deidara smiled appreciatively, but again was disappointed; Sasori was yet to say anything constructive to him. Finally he opened his mouth but the words weren't exactly what Deidara wanted to hear.

'What are you's all talking about? Deidara only got a hit in with Kakuzu because Kakuzu let his guard down he thought that little of you!'

'Sasori...' Kakuzu said seriously.

'No Kakuzu admit it, you didn't think you would have to put any attention into your fight with the brat!'

'Sasori if that was another kid, he would be dead!' Kakuzu replied angrily.

'yeah and fuck sakes Sasori, the kids only twelve, he did pretty good against a ninety year old!' Hidan argued.

'So? That's not gonna help him on missions, he will be dead as soon as he leaves the base!' Sasori snapped, 'he's no good to me dead!'

'Danna un, why don't you have any faith in me?' Deidara asked, getting a little annoyed at Sasori's constant down putting.

'I told you not to speak back to me brat!' Sasori said standing up angrily.

'Why un? You want me to just sit here quietly while you put me down un?' Deidara replied getting angry himself.

'AND I TOLD YOU TO STOP THAT ANOYING SPEECH HABIT!' Sasori spat, standing up.

'I CANT HELP IT UN! NOTHING I DO IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU, WHY CANT YOU JUST GIVE ME A BREAK UN?' Deidara said, also standing up.

'YOU DISRESPECTFULL BRAT, HOW DARE YOU!' Sasori shouted, reaching out to grab Deidara by his cloak.

'Sasori!' they rest yelled, stopping him— suddenly a high pitched cry rang through the base and everyone looked in the direction shocked.

'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'

'Itachi!' Kisame breathed, running out the kitchen to his partner. They rest followed, Sasori looked at Deidara and let go of him, wondering what was wrong with Itachi. Deidara looked confused and followed too.

On the floor of the base Itachi sat on his knees, his head touching the ground, Kisame bend over him comforting him as his shoulders shook with tears.

'Itachi, what's wrong—'

'S-Sasuke...'

'What? What happened?'

'Sasuke...h-he's g-gone...'

The members looked at each other confused. Deidara looked over Hidan shoulder on his tippy toes and saw Itachi in a heap on the floor.

'Gone...gone where?' Hidan asked, surprisingly softly.

'_O-Orochimaru..._'he cried.

Everyone's eyes widened, and Deidara looked confused. Orochimaru?... Sasori's EX-Partner?

***To be continued***

_Well what do you think guys? Do you see a plot coming together? Firstly I sorry the chapter was soooo long, I know it must be frustrating to read, but I had to fit as much as I could in to get it out of the way._

_Secondly, sorry for the long update, I've got a beta reader now, and it takes a while for her to get back to me, my grammar is very bad._

_Thirdly I'm sooo busy at the moment and have to go now and the next chapter won't be as long so I promise I will reply to all your last reviews, and if I get any new ones next chapter._

_Deidara will soon be ready to go on missions in the next chapter. Sorry to all you Zetsu fans...I don't really know how he battles yet since it has been shown much in the anime, but I tried to add him in there for you._

_I hope you are enjoying the story and characters, and hopefully Zetsu gave you a little insight as to why Sasori is so mean, but he's coming along, and finally Deidara is standing up for himself and starting to have that confident personality we all love!_

_I'm rushing here so I hope I'm not forgetting anything...OH YEAH— please please please can anyone show me a good fanfiction? I'm not reading any at the moment, and I don't see any good ones I can get into (cus I've read all the good ones) I miss that feeling of waiting for a good fanfic to update, anything with Sas/Dei, Sasuke/Itachi and Akatsuki are my favourites, but I will read anything if you tell me It's really good._

_Also any questions, or ideas to add to my story feel free to email me!^^_

_See you all soon in the next chapter,_

_Ninjashallow._


	14. Chapter 15 First Mission

**WARNING! This story may have scenes of Physical or Sexual abuse. Characters belong to the world of Naruto.**

**(You may need to read the Chapter 14 to remember what happened)**

Chapter 15 First Mission

'I don't understand, what does this mean?' Deidara asked quietly to Kakuzu who was standing next to him. Kakuzu looked uncomfortable as he tried to answer,

'Itachi is upset at his brother's decisions because he had...er... unpleasant dealings with Orochimaru in the past.' Kakuzu said to put it tamely, when Deidara still looked confused Hidan elaborated for him;

'That sick bastard tried to fuck Itachi! Hidan shouted bluntly, earning him a swift elbow to the ribs by Kakuzu. Deidara's eyes widened considerably and he quickly looked away, hiding his emotion, feeling a raw lump in his throat at the mention of rape, luckily the rest of the members were to busy staring at the scene of Itachi that they hadn't noticed.

Deidara peeled his eyes away from the wall back to Itachi with a saddened expression. Hidan said Orochimaru tried to rape Itachi, meaning he obviously wasn't successful...Itachi was strong enough to defend himself...unlike Deidara.

'Its okay Itachi, I've got you, I've got you...' Kisame murmured into Itachi's ear, rubbing his back in gentle soothing motions, Deidara peaked up higher on his tippy toes over Kakuzu's shoulder and was surprised to see Itachi lay his head back on kisame's shoulder, but even more surprised to see Kisame kiss his head gently...wasn't that a little too close for partners to be acting?

Sasori spotted Deidara noticing this and before he could say something, Kisame trailed his blue fingers down Itachi's soft skin as he kissed his cheek affectionately.

Deidara's eyes widened in surprise and he looked wildly at the others to see their reaction. Either they didn't notice or they didn't care as none of them reacted. Sasori however narrowed his eyes and looked away at the affectionate scene.

'What is going on here?' a sudden voice interrupted the scene as the entire group looked in the direction. Pain stood there with his arms folded, Konan behind him with a curious expression on her face.

'Leader-san...' Kisame addressed him when nobody else would, 'Itachi's brother has sought out Orochimaru, to gain his power I guess...'

Pain's eyes showed no sorrow, but his next words where laced with a mixture of caution and empathy;

'To seek vengeance on you I assume? Ignore this for now and we will keep a look out, In the mean time stay clear of Sasuke's way, he may get stronger and I can't sacrifice you getting killed Itachi, however way you feel about your brother...'

To anyone else these words might have seemed harsh but Deidara was beginning to understand that their leader truly did look out for the member's well being, he just had to maintain his serious criminal impression to the outside world.

'Now everyone back to your rooms, I expect you all to be ready for your missions this coming week.' The members all left silently, Kisame helping Itachi up to his feel as he held his hand, Kakuzu and Hidan walked side by side, their fingers grazing against each other slightly.

Deidara though this behaviour kind of weird, he didn't think Akatsuki members would allow such physical contact with one-another. Not that he minded, it just was a surprise. Sasori began to walk away coolly, avoiding contact with Deidara who, before he had a chance to leave, Pains sudden voice made him jump slightly.

'Deidara, stay behind, I want a word with you, Sasori this concerns you too...' Pain commanded. Deidara turned around at once and bowed slightly to the leader, Sasori did the same, only his bow was more of a slight jerk with his head.

'Deidara how has your training been going?' Pain asked at once, coming straight to the point. Deidara's eyes shifted quickly to Sasori before falling back on his leader.

'I...I'm getting better leader-san un, I've worked really hard.'

Deidara heard Sasori lightly snort at this comment, but ignored it, keeping his gaze fixed on the Pains cloak, not being able to withstand his gaze. Pain seemed to look Deidara up and down, focusing in on his subtle muscle formed under-Neath his baggy cloak. Even with the heavy layers Pain could tell Deidara's muscle depth had increased considerably since joining the Akatsuki months ago.

He knew of course Deidara was highly skilled before he joined, other-wise he wouldn't be here, but compared to the rest of the members he was weak, scrawny and delicate the night he first arrived, and that was not counting the fact he suffered severe abuse before that. No, the leader though, Deidara was definitely improving.

With a sudden swift motion the leader grabbed a kunai and aimed it directly at Deidara's chest, the cling of metal made Sasori's eyes widen and Deidara, with lighting speed deflected it with another kunai he produced from his cloak in a mille-second.

The too metals clashed and cluttered to the floor, Deidara was in a fighting stance in less of a second. Sasori stood silently, and felt oddly confused at the sudden panic he felt when he saw the leader attack Deidara...why did he care what happened? Pain looked Sasori straight in the eye for a split second before turning them back on Deidara.

Deidara breath stopped short as he looked at Pain confused, and with a small trace of anger.

'Wha—why did you do that un?'

Sasori immediately understood before Pain said anything.

'Good, very good...'Pain said, seemingly more to himself that to Deidara or Sasori. Pain was testing deidara's ability, attacking him suddenly to see how he could defend himself. The fact that Deidara reacted so fast and defended himself showed his obvious increase in strength and mind. It seemed Deidara finally caught as to why Pain attacked him too as he eased his fighting stance and relaxed his shoulders.

'you were testing me un?'

'I'm impressed, you acted quickly on impulse and deflected my attack, seems you are fitting in nicely to our organisation.' Pain said with a hint of pride in his voice. Deidara beamed, having never been praised like that before.

Again Sasori rolled his eyes, thinking otherwise but Pain ignored him, and hesitated slightly before addressing him.

'...as your strength is building and you have obviously gained a lot of skill, I feel less reluctant to tell you this...' Sasori's eyes sharpened as he held on every word that leader spoke, '...but as of tomorrow your training will have done you good, you are to go on your first mission!' Pain finally said smoothly.

'What?' Sasori said alarmed as Deidara also looked taken back, 'why so soon?'

Again Pain ignored Sasori as he addressed Deidara seriously. 'I believe you have discovered a method of flying?'

Deidara was about to ask how he knew that information but remembered that Zetsu was a spy for the Akatsuki and would have told Pain everything.

'yes un' Deidara replied a little timid.

'Only today did he manage that!' Sasori said irritated. Deidara looked over at Sasori, growing annoyed by his constant down putting—especially in front of the leader.

'I did not plan to have you go on missions so soon Deidara, however something has come up and your flying method will be of great use to this particular mission.' Pain added, 'besides I have no doubt you are ready and along with Sasori guiding you I am confident you won't fail this mission.'

Deidara didn't look as confident as the leader, as he nodded, swallowing a bitter lump in his throat as the nerves already settled in. Sasori on the other hand looked out-raged at the thought of going on a mission with him, he glared at Pain and spat, 'No, absolutely not! I refuse to go on a mission with this brat!'

'he's your partner, of course your going with him.'

'I said no!'

'Sasori...I was not asking for you to comply, it's an order.'

'I won't do it!'

Pain took his eyes away from Deidara and rested then on Sasori, looking at him like he had just noticed he was in the room,

'Since when has it been acceptable to talk to your leader in such a way?' Pain said darkly. Sasori seemed to look smaller in the leader's intense gaze, after a moment he looked angrily down at his shoes in defeat, his scarlet hair hung messy over his eyes leaving a dark shadow.

Pain took this as an apology and seemed satisfied as he looked back to Deidara.

'Now Deidara, the mission will be reasonably simple, I want you to travel to the hidden waterfall village, as you may already know the entrance is only known to very few. They have too many guards guarding the entrance by the waterfall, so your flight will come in useful as you can circle the land and find another tunnel, just make sure to keep hidden.'

Deidara nodded, trying his best to remember this information. Sasori eyes burned into the leaders with waves of hatred, never before had he questioned Pain's mind until now.

'When you get into the village, you can show your identity as you wish...the waterfall village is highly unlikely to flight you, unless they seek war against the Akatsuki.'

'What do you mean leader-san un?' Deidara asked naively. Sasori smirked, this brat really knew nothing.

'Surely Deidara you know that some villages hire Akatsuki to do dirty work for them?'

Deidara didnt know this and was shocked to say the least, however he kept a cool face as Pain continued speaking;

'I only want you to require an elixir known as "Hero water",' Deidara was about to ask what it was used for when the leader suddenly continued 'its usage is irreverent to you, all I want you do to is switch it with this fake one,' the leader said, holding up a small blue vile containing sparkling blue liquid.

'I'm sorry leader-san, but I fail to see where I am needed in this vast intense mission!' Sasori said sarcastically. Pain narrowed his eyes frowning;

'I'm getting to your part in a moment Sasori,' he said bluntly before looking at Deidara again. Sasori looked out-raged that Pain dismissed him again.

'When you have switched the viles, you can expect company from the land of sound, who wishes to have that same vile. Whatever you do, don't let the real one to get into the hands of the sound, they are most likely working for Orochimaru, since they village was founded by him, is that understood?'

Deidara nodded, gathering all the information. Sasori on the other hand frowned and raised his hand like a school kid.

'Why again, can't the Kage of this village not protect the water himself?' Sasori asked sarcastically.

'There is no Kage in this village, just a leader called "hero of the hidden falls" and he is unreliable to protect the exiler if threatened.' Pain replied. Sasori scoffed, some leader that village had.

'When you defeat them, leave one alive, tell that shiniobi to go back to the sound village and pass the message on; that the either leave the waterfall village alone, or suffer at the hands of the Akatsuki, understood?'

'Yes leader-san un'

'hmpt...' Sasori grunted.

'Sasori, I expect you to show Deidara exactly how to prepare for a mission, see that he is dressed accordingly.'

'Leader-san, you can't hardly expect me to bring him on a mission with me, he could...he might...' Sasori said frustrated, he didn't want to admit the chances of Deidara getting killed was very high, 'he will embarrass me!' he ended up saying.

'Sasori, enough of this!' Pain shouted harshly, 'I am fed up with your constant arguments and back talking, you obey me, and follow my orders at all times, without discussion, is that understood?'

'...yes Leader-san.' Sasori said begrugednly, gritting his teeth in slight annoyance. Deidara looked helplessly at Sasori; he didn't want to be the reason for Pain to give out to Sasori.

'Good, now I expect a full report the minute you get back, dismissed.' With that the leader turned on his heel and walked away without further discussion, leaving Sasori and Deidara alone in the hallway. Deidara turned his gaze to Sasori and smiled weakly,

'Our first mission together Sasori, I'm really excited and a little nervous un' Deidara said smiling a little. Sasori continued to stare at the spot where Pain had just left.

'...I told you to address me as Sasori no Danna.' Sasori said coldly before turning away completely from Deidara.

'I'm sorry Sasori no Danna.' Deidara apologised to Sasori. He felt like all he ever did was apologise. Sasori walked on as if he had not heard him. Deidara dropped his gaze and stared helplessly down at the cold floor, all his nerves being completely replaced by disappointment, before he ran to catch up with Sasori.

When they reached the room, Sasori carefully un-buttoned his Akatsuki cloak and left it hanging neatly on the wall. He didn't care that he was exposing his puppet body now since Deidara knew he was a puppet.

Deidara gazed at his puppet body a little longer than he should have before turning away blushing; he had to admit his master had a nice body.

'Before you go to bed, get your supply's ready for the morning, and er...' Sasori's voice suddenly became very low, '...paint your nails.' He finished quickly. Deidara's head spun around.

'Do w-what un?' he asked, wondering if he heard Sasori correctly. Sasori avoided eye contact with Deidara and turned away, as if blushing.

'I said Paint your nails brat!' he replied angrily, embarrassed at having to repeat that. To Sasori's further embarrassment Deidara looked a little stunned, looking at the tips of his fingers.

'Akatsuki paint their nails? Why un?'

'Don't question me brat, just do it!' Sasori snapped back. Even though he thought it was ridiculous too.

'But I don't have any nail polish un...'

'You may borrow mine for tonight, but do not choose my colour when you go to buy your own!'

Deidara nodded, reaching out a hand as Sasori passed him a small dark green bottle of polish.

'Do all the members where nail polish Danna un?' Deidara asked. Sasori's head spun round so quickly it almost snapped.

'Of course they do! You think I choose to wear nail polish on my own accord?' he spat, feeling his cheeks burn, even though he couldn't blush. Why did the leader have to make them paint their nails?

'Sorry Danna, I didn't mean that, I just didn't think the Akatsuki painted their nails un' Deidara said smiling a little. This was obviously the wrong thing to say as in a split second Sasori's hand gripped Deidara's face tightly, anger flaring up in his eyes.

'Have you got something to say about the Akatsuki? You think we are a joke huh?' Sasori demanded, his nails piercing into deidara's soft skin.

'N-n-n-no' Deidara stuttered helplessly.

'You think because we wear nail polish, we are some sort of joke, like we aren't serious criminals? The last member that joked about wearing nail polish got his head ripped off by Kakuzu! Don't you dare make snide comments about us, I look forward to seeing how long you last in tomorrow missions before I'm taking the ring of your dead fingers!' Sasori shouted throwing Deidara's face away from him harshly.

Deidara cupped his cheek where Sasori had gripped so harshly, tears leaking from his eyes, but he would not let them fall, not in front of Sasori.

'I'm sorry Sasori no danna un...I didn't mean to insult any of you.'

'...just paint your nails and go to bed!' Sasori snapped, turning away from Deidara with a long sigh. Deidara watched him as he sat on his bench, taking out a wooden puppet arm. Deidara slowly wiped his eyes with his sleeve and sat on the floor, opening the bottle with a shaky hand. He dipped the brush into the bottle and then applied it on his nails. Blobs of teal nail polish dripped of the brush and landed on the floor. Deidara tried his best to apply it evenly, stroking the brush clumsily down his chipped nails.

Sasori worked silently, as Deidara finished up, closing the bottle. He looked towards Sasori, noticing he was still working. Rather than disturbing him, he left the bottle on the floor and stood up going to the bathroom to wash his teeth and get ready for bed.

As soon as Deidara left, Sasori looked around, seeing the mess Deidara made with the nail polish. Sasori heard the door open again after a few minutes and Deidara stood semi-naked, holding a thin shirt in his arms.

'Danna un, I need to wash this, and I've nothing else to wear to bed un...' Deidara said holding up the shirt. Sasori raised his eyebrow, looking surprised at Deidara's muscles he gained these past few months in training.

'...Urm...Just put it in the laundry basket and go to bed, you can do without it for one night!' Sasori snapped, dragging his eyes away from deidara's body with a scowl on his face. He really wished he hadn't said that, now he had to sleep with the brat when he was wearing almost nothing.

Deidara nodded, and climbed in under the sheets, making sure, as usual, to stay the far end of his side of the bed.

'Good night Danna un...'

'...'

Deidara sighed sadly when Sasori didn't reply and laid his head down on the pillow. The sick raw nerves were starting to creep up in his insides at the thought of going on his first mission. What if tonight was his last night ever?

***The next morning***

Deidara woke the next morning by crashing to a dull thud on the floor. He unravelled himself from the sheets and looked up, sure enough Sasori was there, his blue charka strings glowing from his fingers.

'Get up and get dressed now!' he said bluntly, already dressed in his Akatsuki robe. Deidara rubbed his head wincing.

'Danna, can you not wake me more gently un?'

Sasori ignored this, throwing his cloak in Deidara's lap.

'Next time hang up your cloak, and don't leave it lying on the bathroom floor!' he said before walking out. Deidara got up, pulling the cloak over his head. The long sleeves fell down over his thin arms, so he had to bunch them up as he tied up his mass of blond honey hair. He quickly brushed his teeth and grabbed his clay before running down the hall after Sasori.

When he entered the kitchen Sasori was just finishing a cup of coffee. Deidara eagerly sat down, feeling hungry.

'What are you doing brat? We don't have time for breakfast, let's go!'

'...but Sasori I'

'I said, let's go, now brat!' Sasori snapped back. Deidara sighed to himself and heaved himself of the chair, following Sasori. He was interested to know exactly where the main entrance to the Akatsuki lare was.

As the walked the long cold cave walls, Deidara noticed a trail of blood dried on to the stone floor.

'Danna, whys there so much blood there un?'

Sasori glanced to where Deidara was pointing and raised his eyebrow.

'That blood came from you, the night we first took you here.' He answered a little awkwardly, watching as Deidara nodded and became suddenly quiet.

He followed Sasori past long dark cave halls, until they reached a huge stone bolder. Deidara could see rays of light beaming through the cracks of the boulder and supposed this was the entrance.

He watched as Sasori put his left thumb up to the boulder and immediately the ground started to shake as the boulder slowly moved aside.

As soon as the boulder moved away, Deidara was hit with a blinding flash of light so strong it almost made his head explode. Deidara cried out softly hunching slightly as he shut his eyes tight. The bright light was too much for his sensitive eyes. Sasori looked over his shoulder at Deidara. He forgot it had been a long time since Deidara saw pure sunlight, instead of the dark caves.

'Open your eyes while keeping them covered and then gradually let them adjust to the brightness.' Sasori said; a little hint of softness in his voice. Deidara complied forcing his eyes open, keeping his arms across them. A little bit of light drifted past the dense fabric of his robe, but it wasn't enough to hurt his eyes. Slowly, he moved his arms down, letting more and more of the invasive, piercing brightness in.

'Are you okay now?' Sasori asked. Deidara looked a little surprised at Sasori, but nodded smiling.

'Yeah Danna, thanks un.' Sasori handed Deidara a conical straw hat, with a bell hanging down from it.

'Here, wear this, it might help with the sunlight and it will cover your face.' Deidara took the hat, and noticed, now that he wasn't squinting, how pale Sasori's skin looked under the sun. It was beautiful, Deidara though, staring at his master, his skin almost glowed creamy and white under his messy locks of fiery red hair. Sasori raised a thin eyebrow as he noticed Deidara staring at him and Deidara quickly stuttered to say something.

'urm, h-how did you open that boulder Danna un?'

'I pressed my ring up against it, that ring on your finger is more important than your life, if you lose it enemies could enter our layer if the find it!' Sasori said turning briefly to Deidara, who nodded looking down at his own ring. Sasori took a scroll out of his cloak and in a puff of smoke a large puppet that looked like a scorpion appeared. Deidara looked wildly around him, thinking there was already an enemy.

'No brat, I use this puppet for travelling.' Sasori said climbing into the puppet and closing the hatch. Deidara found he was a little disappointed not being able to look at his masters beautiful red hair in the sun. 'Now come on...' Sasori said facing into the light. Deidara nodded, taking one last look at the base...one last look where the rest of the members hide, in case he never makes it back.

Sasori and Deidara walked side by side through the brilliant green forest. The sun was shining beautifully up in the sky, a soft breeze rustled the trees and the grass felt spongy underneath them. Deidara sighed happily, forgetting all his nerves about the mission. He turned his head round to his partner inside Hiruko; Sasori hadn't said anything since the left the base. He didn't even look round at the scenery, not at the birds in the sky, or the beautiful glowing forest, his eyes just kept straight ahead.

'It's such a beautiful day, huh danna?'

'...'

'It's been so long since I felt a breeze in the air, or grass beneath me, it must be hard to live in that Dark base your whole life right Danna un?'

'The base keeps us safe from the outside world...' Sasori replied gruffly. Deidara looked at Sasori before turning his eyes up to the sky.

'Don't you miss looking at the sky? I use to look at it every day in class un...try to pick shapes from the clouds...'

'You should keep your head out of the clouds, not let your guard down, every step you take out here you should be on constant alert.'

Deidara was beginning to understand why Sasori always looked serious and tense. Even now his shoulders where hunched back and his eyes were rooted to the trail in front of them, though every so often the darted around the forest suspiciously.

'but don't you like to see the world around you? The beauty in it un, don't you get tired being cooped up in the base in darkness?'

'No brat, I could spend the rest of my life in my room, working on my puppets.'

'Alone, all by yourself un?'

'...I prefer my solitude.'

'Don't you ever get lonely...everyone needs somebody...' Deidara said more to himself.

'I need no-one brat...'

'but Danna'

'listen brat, let me give you some advice, you can never rely on anyone only yourself, people will only use you, abuse you and let you down...I would have though you of all people would understand this...' Sasori snapped harshly. Deidara blinked slowly, looking back up at the sky.

'I don't agree Danna, sure people hurt you in life, but I also think if you give people time, they will come through for you...' Deidara replied softly. Sasori's head snapped up to look at Deidara.

'...oh I see, then please tell me, when has anyone ever come through for you brat?' he asked sarcastically. As far as Sasori knew, Deidara was bullied and abused all his life.

'Well...' Deidara said turning to Sasori, 'with me, I guess it was you...you came through for me, y-you saved me, when I was close to dying after...well after what happened.'

Sasori looked stunned, although it didn't really show on his puppet Hiruko. How could this kid be so optimistic about everything, after what happened to him? Sasori let his cool mask wash over his face again as he replied gruffly;

'I did no such thing, it was simply an order by our leader...'

'Yeah but you were there...I-I remember the red blur, and again at night, when I almost stopped breathing, again there was a red blur...' Deidara stopped and turned to Sasori, 'danna un...I know it was you, wasn't it? You...you saved me didn't you?'

Sasori's hard gaze dropped for a minute before his eyes grew cold and he glared at Deidara.

'listen brat, I did no such thing, Pain wanted you in our Organization, that's the only reason we saved you, to use you now, if you died we wouldn't have cared, and if you die now, you will just be replaced by another meaningless partner!' Sasori spat, as cynically as he could.

'I don't believe you un...if you didn't care then why would you come see me spar with Kakuzu? Why would you bring me back into your room after hitting me and throwing me out un?'

'I don't gave a shit if you drop dead right now!' Sasori hissed back, his heart beating madly in his container.

'What are you so afraid of? Why are you treating me like this, what have I ever done to you Danna un, it's not like I asked to be your partner, I just am, why can't we get along like the other members un, can't you just treat me like an equal?'

'You'll never be my equal!' Sasori spat back, facing Deidara, his scorpion tail raised angrily. Deidara's eyes widened in surprise.

'Danna—'

'—And you're not my partner!'

'D-Danna—'

'—your just a stupid childish brat—'

'DANNAAAA!' Deidara suddenly shouted louder, and without warning lunged at Sasori making them both crash to the ground. Deidara landed on Sasori, his arms holding him down as all Sasori could see was a mass of blonde hair. Anger exploded in him and he was just about to break every bone in Deidara's body when suddenly a dozen silver objects stuck into the ground all around him.

Both Deidara and Sasori got up in less than a mili-second, and parted to either side of the trail in defence. Sasori felt his heart beat rapidly as he looked out of Hiruko, his mind racing on what just happened. That's why Deidara lunged at him, there was Shinobi behind him, god how could he have let his guard down like that?

'Where are they? Where did they go?' Sasori heard a voice say.

'I don't know, they were too fast, all I saw was a blur.'

'Keep your guard up, stay alert, they were definitely Akatsuki members; I recognised the robes!' another said angrily, gripping his weapon tightly.

Sasori tore his eyes away from the guards, and scanned the forest for Deidara. What happened to him? Where did he go? His sharp eyes spotted Deidara's blond hair about ten metres away, crouching behind a huge leafy willow tree, and he couldn't help feel a little relieved.

'Aim in all directions, till we find them...' Sasori heard them say and as soon as he finished talking, kunai flew everywhere, Sasori raised his scorpion tail in front of him as a shield as another dozen pierced deep in the tree trunk behind him. His eyes scanned Deidara again, and saw a blurred image of him skimming through the trees, avoiding the blades. The guards seemed to aim at him now as the saw the blur moving and the shuffling of the trees.

'Quick, by that oak tree!' a guard shouted quickly and the rest aimed, but Deidara skilfully avoided them.

'Why don't you come out, and fight us?' the lead guard shouted into the trees.

Sasori growled angrily to himself, they weren't gonna leave him and Deidara alone until he killed them. Deidara must have thought the same thing as in a swift motion he landed down gracefully on two feet on a tree branch, in view of the guards, but still at a safe enough distance away.

All the guards' at once striked fighting position, a few even stepped back; the sight of the Akatsuki cloak was all that was needed to frighten them. A few guards seemed to squint heavily, trying to make out which member it was, but deidara's straw hat was covering his face.

'Keep your guard up,' one said, looking at Deidara. From deidara's small body, they seemed to reckon it was Itachi as he continued, 'What ever you do, don't look at his eyes!' Deidara let out a small laugh at their mistake, as he reached into his clay pouch and eat a lump of it.

Some of the guards took a step back, curious as to what he was doing with clay. Another one pointed his arm up suddenly.

'h-h-he has m-mouths on his h-hands!' All the guards at once looked at his hands and sure enough the saw a mouth chewing up the clay like gum.

'Mouths?' the leader whispered to himself, 'I've never heard of an Akatsuki member with mouths on their hands!' he shouted. 'Who are you!' one guard demanded. Deidara didn't answer, as his hand kept on chewing the clay up. Finely he lifted his head up slightly, and the white fabric from the straw hat flew aside revealing his ocean blue eyes and scope.

'h-he's...he's... just a kid!' one said, almost laughing. At this deidara's eyes darkened, and he lifted his head up slowly.

'Just... a kid?'

Sasori felt like stepping in as he watched from the trees, but he felt a urge of powerful charka emitting from Deidara, the guards must have felt it too as they took a few steps cautiously back from Deidara's voice.

'You are under arrest for conducting unlawful activities with a criminal organisation, along with crimes towards you village, if you surrender now we will—'

'—Crimes towards my village? What would they be now un?' Deidara asked sarcastically, Sasori could feel the bitterness and contempt in his voice. The guard's didn't know what to say...all rogue ninjas were the same;

'Erm...well...f-for betraying and fleeing your v-village and—'

'—I see, I'm a rogue ninja so you automatically assume I betrayed my village un?' Deidara demanded. The guards took another step back, watching Deidara's movement closely.

'I...urm...uh...' the guard stuttered.

'Boss he's just a kid we can kill him now!' one guard whispered to him. Suddenly a kunai landed an inch away from his foot, making the guard leap back in shock.

'Don't underestimate me un' Deidara said darkly. Sasori couldn't believe it, Deidara's shot was right on target, landing perfectly beside his foot.

'you freak, you are so dead!' the guard shouted back, grabbing a kunai from his pouch, but before he even had a chance to throw it, a silver Shurikiun landed swiftly in the centre of his forehead, making him drop down to the ground with a heavy thud. All the guards immediately starting attacking, throwing weapons at Deidara, who leaped from the branch with ease and did a tumble left until he skimmed down to a clearing a few feet away. He saw blue charka string latch on to him and suddenly he was thrown through the trees, landing down next to Sasori, who pulled him up to his feet quickly.

'Danna what are you—'

'Shut up and stay still!' Sasori said looking over his shoulder. He was getting very impatient, this was delaying their mission.

'Who are they Danna?'

'They are a special type of guards that search for Rogue Ninja...'

'You mean ANBU?'

'No these guys catch us dead or alive and trade us in for money in villages, so don't let your guard down, their just as skilled as ANBU!'

'What are we gonna do Danna?'

'There getting in the way, we have to kill them all.'

'Right un,' Deidara said, taking a big lump of clay from his pocket.

'What are you doing?'

'You said kill them all un' Deidara replied shrugging.

'No! not with your stupid clay, it will make too much noise, and attract other attention brat!' Deidara sighed, slumping down beside the tree trunk, they weren't even an hour outside the Akatsuki base and people already wanted him dead, people he never even met before.

Sasori quickly took a count of how many guards there was.

'There's approximately 16 of them, we have to attack the ones at the back before they get away, as we won't have time to chase them.'

'What do you mean "before they get away" danna un?' Deidara asked confused. Sasori looked over at Deidara and almost smiled.

'Believe me brat, when fighting Akatsuki, there's ones that always run away!' he said smirking. 'I want you to get the ones at the back, since I'm slower in Hiruko, I'll take care of the front.'

'Right Danna un!' Deidara said placing sharp Shuirken between his fingers.

'Ready?' Sasori said, although he wasn't really looking to see if he was or not, Deidara nodded and together they jumped out in different directions. The guards ran at Deidara all at once to attack, and Deidara found they almost attacked in slow motion...either he was faster or they were moving very slow.

Sasori didn't even need to move as any guard that went near him got their throat sliced open with his razor sharp blades. Deidara jumped and avoided a kunai to the neck, he spinned around and did a double take, kicking four guards at once in there stomach breaking all their bones in one go.

Another guard jumped behind Deidara ready to strike, but Deidara was too fast, moving out of the way and slitting his throat. Blood squirted out of the wound as he fell to the ground moaning.

Just as Sasori expected 5 guards got of their feet and ran in the opposite direction as fast as they could. Deidara smirked and took out 6 kunai, and, jumping high in the air, managed to hit all of them square in the back, even the guard running in a hidden zone, before landing down gracefully in a puddle of blood.

The forest was once again quiet when Deidara stood up, catching his breath. He looked over his shoulder and saw Sasori looking at him through his puppet.

'Who taught you to throw kunai like that brat?' Sasori asked. His aim was so perfect; it couldn't have been from only school lessons.

'you did un!' Deidara said smiling, 'Remember what you told me Danna? Lesson 1, never take your eyes off your enemy, that's what I did...I watched them all the time they ran, figured how long it would take them, taking into account speed and weight, and then just threw the kunai at the precise moment un.'

Sasori blinked a little surprise, he hated to admit it but throughout the battle, Deidara fought impressively. The guards could not match his speed or his strength.

'Hmpt...I guess not all blonde are dumb!' Sasori retorted. Deidara smirked, brushing his locks of blond hair out of his eyes. He didn't no whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, but coming from Sasori, Deidara guessed he could have said a lot worse.

As the stood in the forest surrounds by dead bodies, one guard suddenly moaned, raising his hand as he quivered. Sasori and Deidara both looked startled and took a few steps over to him.

'hmmm how are you still alive?' Sasori said coldly, drawing a knife from his Akatsuki robe. Deidara stood beside him over the frightened figure, who starting shaking, spitting out blood as he pulled a kunai from his chest.

'Sixteen men VS two, and you call yourself a Shinobi?' Sasori said, sweeping his messy red hair out of his auburn eyes.

'Pathetic un!' Deidara said, looking down on him.

'p-p-p-ple-please, please d-d-don't k-kill m-me...' the guard stuttered, looking up at them terrified.

Deidara smiled, feeling for once a surge of power running through him, like he was in control. Sasori however looked down on him with a bored expression, as though he went over this a million times.

'You and your men have been targeting Akatsuki for a long time now, why?' Sasori demanded sharply.

'For m-money...'

'Are you being paid by somebody?'

'N-n-no, but the Kage's of the villages you b-betrayed offer big money in exchange for y-your lives!' he stuttered.

'You mean you're not even a real guard?'

'N-n-no, I did this for my wife and kids, w-we need the m-money.' He pleaded. Deidara's heart warmed a little to this man, he was doing this for his kids, he was like a father Deidara never had.

Sasori rolled his eyes and grabbed the scruff of the man's shirt.

'You value money over your own life? How do you think your family would feel when they found out your dead?'

'P-please d-don't'

'Shut up, I'm not gonna kill you, let me give you some advice, put your lives first before money, go back and tell all the others not to bother the Akatsuki again, if ANBU doesn't stand a chance with us, they certainly don't!'

The man looked shocked as Sasori let go of his grip, he stumbled up onto his feet, looking suspiciously at Sasori and Deidara before limping away as fast as he could. Deidara looked over at Sasori surprised.

'You actually let him go un?'

Sasori stared at the spot where the man just was, his expression unreadable.

'I wouldn't waste my time killing him,' Sasori replied, and suddenly spun is head around to Deidara, his eyes returning to their sharp glare. 'Do not tell any of the others what happened here!'

Deidara nodded, still a little shocked Sasori let the man run free. Sasori turned away and looked up to the sky. The clouds were turning black, and droplets of rain started to spit down on them.

'Maybe we should fine somewhere to rest un' Deidara said looking up at the stormy sky. Sasori frowned and crawled back into Hiruko.

'No, we will keep moving; we have to make up for lost time.'

'But Danna un...'

'I SAID let's go!' Sasori snapped back. A burst of lighting struck through the sky followed by a loud rumbling of thunder. Rain poured down on them, soaking through the thin fabrics of their Akatsuki cloaks. Deidara sighed sadly, sweeping his soaked blond hair out of his eyes. It was easy for Sasori, he was warm and sheltered in Hiruko.

'Yes Danna un...'

***3 Hours later***

The Rain lashed down from the sky, thunder stuck through the clouds and shook the trees and earth. Deidara trailed behind Sasori, his thin arms wrapped around his delicate body, his teeth clattering together as the rain soaked into his skin.

His hat had blown away hours ago, leaving the rain to bucket down on him soaking his hair and drowing him like a rat. Even his toes had gone numb as with each step his sandals sunk into the freezing wet soil.

Sasori's puppet trailed steadily along in silence. After a few more steps Deidara couldn't take it anymore, he stood hunched on the spot, wrapping his arms around him tightly and shivering violently. Sasori turned back to face him.

'What are you doing brat?'

'S-S-S-Sas-ooor-i...I...I...c-c-cant...'

Sasori looked at Deidara through his puppet Hiruko; the blond was soaking through the skin, his teeth clattering painfully and his lips looked blue.

'It will soon be dark, that distraction took hours off our mission time, not to mention we are nowhere near the water village.' Sasori said gritting his teeth. Deidara bowed his head dejectedly, the freezing cold was becoming too much for him to bear.

Sasori's eyes softened a little, he had long forgotten what it was like to feel cold, but just even looking at Deidara made him shiver.

'Alright then,' Sasori said gently, looking at Deidara with concerned eyes 'let's go find shelter and somewhere to rest for the night...'

***To be continued***

_First of all, hope you enjoyed the chapter, as you's have all waited a long time to read it. I think I am slowly getting Sasori to open up to Deidara (buts he is taking his time!) _

_So they are gonna find somewhere to rest and get away from the storm, what do you think will happen? I'm interested to know!_

_Secondly, I'm sorry for my short freak out, as soon as I had doubts and sent the AUTHORS NOTE I got so many replies back straight away begging me not to give up, and not to feel bad. I was going to tell you's all what happens in the end if you asked, but when I got so many reply's I was so over whelmed, you guys really do care! *sniff sniff*_

_I just found it hard to continue, with what happened running over my head...I guess I just lost the mood after getting that message, and when I re-read all the chapters my story suddenly seemed so horrible and ugly and I felt terrible._

_But I am deeply sorry, your right I could never abandon this fic when so many people want to read it, I just needed reassurance, believe me it was killing me to send that note thinking it might be all over. Even when I sent it I considered shutting of my fan fiction account cause I was so upset and angry with myself—but I have to say...your emails were funny; Some of you begged me not to quit listing loads of reasons and then the rest simply told me "Nope, you're not allowed to quit, your gona keep writing and that's it, I look forward to the next chapter, update soon."_

_All I can say is thanks to; _

_**XSweetXSourXSoulX**_

_**-shadownin1010-**_

_**Deisluv**_

_**SceneEmoKid**_

_**Tarouchoo**_

_**Kai**_

_**DelongeSauce111**_

_**BetaCat**_

_**Experiment 13**_

_**Reality Illusionary**_

_**Artemesia-Hime**_

_**Gothgirl987654321**_

_**Black55widow**_

_**SweetScarlett97**_

_**Uchiha-dusk**_

_**Ochineko**_

_**Superfan8**_

_**Dontquit**_

_**Josefin Tonks**_

_**One-winged-Chaos.**_

_You all reunited together and made me feel much better. I think I can enjoy writing this again, and let's face it I couldn't possibly stop without allowing Deidara to get his revenge or some good Saso/Dei moments to happen!^^_

_See you all again soon,_

_Ninjashallow_


	15. Chapter 16 The Hidden Waterfall

**Chapter 16 – The Hidden Waterfall**

**(you may need to read the pervious chapter to follow what's going on—for that I deeply apologise)**

Deidara's toes were numb with cold by the time Sasori found a small cave high in the forest mountain's to shelter them from the snow storm, and although the opening still blew in bitter cold wind and icy snow flakes, the cave was hidden from any passers by.

Deidara was too cold and feverous to be surprised when a fire suddenly burned out of a secret latch on Sasori's hand, lighting a small flame to warm the cave.

'T-Thanks d-d-d-dannnna u-un!' Deidara shivered, hunching into the small flame crackling to life. Sasori said nothing as he sat down, brushing the wet snow off his puppet Hiruko.

The wind screamed loudly outside, and Deidara winced, rubbing his palms together, trying to defrost the mouths that had frozen together painfully. Sasori stared at his action and frowned slightly.

'Keep your chest warm, the rest of your body will follow as the blood circulates.'

Deidara nodded and squeezed his body close to him, the crackle of the fire was gradually warming him up, but the worst had already happened; his head was hot and he was beginning to feel a fever come on. Sasori looked away from Deidara, out into the distance of the opening cave, the snow continued to blast through the opening, he didn't feel the cold but saw his puppet hands had a thin layer of ice encrusted over them. Looking over at Deidara he noticed that his skin had formed a shade of blue and his lips were frozen. He had never seen a snow storm this bad in twenty years, the fire he made was helping but not enough, he was quite certain if they stayed here all night, Deidara would freeze to death.

'Take off your robe brat.' Sasori said suddenly. Deidara looked up from his huddled position a little shocked.

'W-what?'

Sasori sighed, he hated repeating himself.

'Take off your robe brat, now!' he growled back impatiently. Deidara knew he was only wearing a black netted top and thin loose fabric underneath his Akatsuki robe, the though made him shiver and curl up more. Sasori sighed again and got up from where he was sitting to crouch down next to Deidara.

'Brat, your cloak is soaking wet from the rain and snow, if you stay in it all night you will die, now take it off...' Sasori said tiredly, not having the energy to shout as he slowly undid the buttons of Deidara's cloak, until the wet fabric fell of his shoulders exposing his delicate body.

Sasori stared at his fish netted top with a raised eyebrow, but chose not to comment; he was too annoyed and tired.

Deidara blushed slightly, wrapping his arms around his exposed body in an attempt to cover himself up in front of Sasori, who noticed underneath his newly defined muscles was faint layers of bruising, most likely caused by the other members when training. Dark purple bruising also stretched across Deidara's neck were Kakuzu had wrapped his wires around, chocking him. Sasori though Kakuzu and the other members had gone easy on Deidara, but judging by the damage to his body, they had been quite brutal.

'D-D-Danna?' Deidara half mumbled, shivering violently as he body was exposed to the cold air. Sasori snapped out of his thinking and quickly unbuttoned his own cloak, which had managed to stay dry since he was inside Hiruko, and wrapped it around Deidara instead. The cloak draped heavily over Deidara's thin shoulders smothering him in comfortable warmth. Sasori folded Deidara's wet cloak near the fire to dry before settling himself down beside Deidara for extra warmth.

'I'm s-s-sorry d-dan-danna, I d-didn't m-m-mean to m-mess t-this u-u-up u-un...' Deidara shivered violently, his shoulders shaking as he drew out icy breath. Sasori's eyes stared passively into the fire, its true he was angry, in all his time in Akatsuki, not once had he delayed a mission like this. If it weren't for Deidara, Sasori could have travelled on in the snow storm, but now he was stuck in a cave, nursing a blond.

'...Forget it.' Sasori replied dully, watching the ice melt from his puppet shell...wondering how it felt...wishing he could feel it.

Deidara's eyes creased sadly. He knew his master was angry and upset. The cold air didn't affect Sasori, and he wasn't suffering like Deidara...but something was wrong.

'D-Danna,' Deidara said, as he began to warm up, ' t-tomorrow morning, I'll make up f-for lost time un...I'll try really h-hard, I'll m-make you p-proud un, I p-promise!'

'-Promise nothing brat, in the morning you could be frozen to death!' Sasori snapped a little harshly. Deidara shivered wrapping up tightly under Sasori's cloak, breathing in the faint scent of wood from it. Sasori was pissed at him, he knew it. But he had offered Deidara his Akatsuki robe to keep him warm, maybe there was still a chance to get on his good side.

'In the m-morning, we could fly on my c-clay bird Danna, we can make it a-all the way to the waterfall village and back while s-saving time un!' Deidara smiled weakly. Sasori continued to gaze into the fire, ignoring Deidara.

'From the sky w-we definitely won't run into any enemies again!' he added reassuringly.

'By the time we reach the waterfall village, you won't have enough charka left to complete the mission.' Sasori replied coldly, eyes still fixed into the fire. Deidara bit his lip, knowing this was true. If he survived tonight he will have to drastically increase his charka levels. Sasori suddenly looked up from the fire, his eyes narrowing at Deidara.

'I suppose you didn't even pack enough clay for the mission did you?' he asked coolly.

'...Errrr'

'I thought so...you really think you're good enough for missions don't you brat? Just because the leader sent you on one early, and even though I told you to prepare you still ignore my orders!'

'Danna I have enough clay un, besides I might not even need any, we are only switching a vile in the water village tomorrow un!' Deidara protested.

'Ah, so you actually remembered what the mission is, did you?' Sasori snapped back sarcastically, making Deidara feel stupid.

'Why are you so angry Danna?' Deidara asked, the warmth making him able to speak more, ' So were a little of track with the mission, but it's okay...I mean we did good, we defeated a couple of dozen men un!' Deidara said timidly, trying to make his master feel better. Sasori glared back angrily.

'You don't get it brat, beating them is nothing to be proud or happy about, they are the first of many that will want you dead, and stop at nothing to try! Killing of a few Amateurs does not mean you are ready for missions, I don't know what leader-san was thinking allowing you to go on one—AND we are _way_ of track with this mission, I have never delayed the leader this late, he will be expecting us back at the base tomorrow morning and we will be lucky if we make it to the water village by tomorrow after-noon!'

'But Sasori I helped you didn't I? I-I though you would be pleased un...'

'I could have taken them all out on my own!'

'_I know_, b-but we made a good team right? I mean, we look out for each other!' Deidara said desperately.

'I don't need you, I don't need anyone, I can take care of myself!' he snapped.

'I'm not saying you can't Danna un, but isn't it better to always have somebody you can trust? I can be that person...I-I know you don't think much of me now Danna, but if you just give me a chance I will prove to you I'm worth something, I will always look out for you un!'

'Why would you do that?' Sasori scoffed, 'I won't look out for you, so why would you bother with me?'

Deidara's eyes looked sadly down at his lap, as he wrapped Sasori's cloak around his shoulders tightly.

'I never had anyone to look out for me before—'

'—you don't say!' Sasori said sarcastically.

'—Everyone wanted to do me more harm than good...except you's, the Akatsuki brought me in, and I can think of no other way to repay you than looking out for you Danna un!'

'You can repay me by shutting up!' Sasori snapped. Deidara looked helplessly down at his lap, this was going nowhere, Sasori was never going to change.

'Incase you didn't remember Danna, I saved your life today!' Deidara said bitterly, getting fed up with Sasori's constant abuse. Sasori's head spun fully around, causing a sharp snap, his usually thick eyelids widened furiously.

'What did you say brat?' he growled. Deidara shrunk back a little, fear rising up in his chest, but he stood his ground;

'Back in the forest Danna, you were too busy yelling at me to even notice attackers coming your way, I would have though "_Sasori of the red sand_" would detect danger miles away un!'

Sasori's eyes narrowed into slits, '...you insolent fucking brat!' he spat standing up, 'how dare you mock me, do you have any idea what I am capable of? If you think you had it bad in Iwagakure, think again brat!'

'What are you saying Danna un?' Deidara shot back, his heart beating rapidly, he would have stood up too if he had the energy.

'I can fuck you up worse than what your own fucking village did!' Sasori shouted back angrily advancing on Deidara.

'No you couldn't un, you have no idea what I've suffered through!' Deidara replied back, tensing up. He had no idea what really happened, and Deidara never wanted him to; the shame would be unbearable.

Sasori scoffed, rolling his eyes.

'Oh pleeease, your eyeball being cut out? A few broken ribs? That's nothing compared to what I will do if you ever speak back to me like that again!'

Deidara felt hot tears surface from his eyes, he didn't care about the cold, or the numbness of his skin, Sasori's words hurt more than any of that and a knot began to tighten in his stomach. Sasori knew nothing, NOTHING, of the pain he endured.

'If you hate me so much, why did you give me your cloak huh? Why don't you just let me freeze to death!' Deidara cried, throwing Sasori's Akatsuki robe back at him in anger as tears streamed down his face. Sasori was a little shocked by Deidara's reaction; something in his words hit a nerve with Deidara judging by the anguished expression on his face.

Sasori picked up his cloak, a little lost for words as Deidara buried his face in his knees, his thin shoulders shaking violently but not from the cold air, but from the miserable sobs that shook his body.

Kneeling down beside Deidara, Sasori hesitantly put his hand on the blonds shoulder and jumped a little when he actually felt with his own fingertips how icy cold his skin was. Deidara stiffened at his action, afraid Sasori was gonna harm him, but was surprised when he replaced the Akatsuki robe over the blondes shoulder.

'What use would you be to me frozen brat!' Sasori said, and although the words sounded harsh, Deidara heard the sincerity in his tone. Looking up to his master with teary eyes, the blond shook his head sadly;

'I'm sorry Danna un...I really didn't mean to mess up this mission, please don't hate me un'

Sasori sighed and closed his eyes briefly. For a few moments he said nothing. It was extremely hard for him to be anything other than sarcastic to the blonde, but he couldn't leave his apology left open like that.

'Its... okay brat...it happens, it wasn't your fault...a lot of people in this world want us dead,' he said softly, 'we will get to the waterfall village eventually...'

'Yeah but leader-sama will be angry won't he? That I messed up my first mission, he will kick me out un, I'll be sent back to Iwagakure!'

'That won't happen, missions get delayed for lots of different reasons, the leader will understand.'

'But you said you would leave me for dead if I slowed you down un!'

'I'm not going through the whole trouble of finding a new partner, besides you might not make it to morning if this cold weather keeps up!' Sasori mused, staring out into the howling wind and rain. Deidara wrapped up tighter in Sasori's cloak, huddling into a fetal position. He really wanted to cuddle in closer to Sasori for extra warmth but thought that would be crossing the line.

Sasori surprised him by suddenly flexing his fingers, making his Puppet Hiruko come to life. For a minute Deidara though he was going to leave him here alone, instead he watched as the puppet trailed to the edge of the cave and blocked the entrance, letting no cold air or snow in.

Deidara looked at Sasori gratefully, feeling warmer already.

'Thanks Danna un...'

'Go to sleep brat.'

***A few hours after***

Sasori poked the last few flames left from the small fire, absent –minded and drawing his scorpion symbol in the ashes. It had been a few hours since he finally heard the brat drift off to sleep, and what kept Sasori from sleeping himself was what happened that afternoon.

Deidara's words had hit a nerve when he remarked how easily Sasori had let his guard down when arguing with the brat. Sasori's eyes creased into a frown and he messed up the ashes angrily.

Never before in all his years had he ever let his guard down like that. He was always alert, something he prided himself on. He never failed to be one step ahead, never in his life was he caught off guard.

But today...it all changed. A simple argument with Deidara made him lose touch with his senses, act rationally, forget himself. Nobody ever had that effect on him. Deidara did things to him, Sasori couldn't understand. How was it even possible he let his guard down after all these years? And what happened when his wooden fingers touched deidara's skin and he felt the coldness? Sasori never felt anything.

Sasori blinked away from the dying fire and moved his eyes towards the sleeping form smothered in his Akatsuki cloak. The brat has only been in the organization a few months and already Sasori's comfortable world had been turned upside down. Frustrated he laid his head down, thinking of Deidara's speech that afternoon.

"_everyone needs somebody"_

Sasori rolled his eyes and turned on his side. He didn't need anyone he told himself, and never again would he let his guard down.

***The Next Morning* **

Deidara was woken the next morning by his cloak suddenly being pulled of him. He hissed at the sudden cold air, and curled up tightly.

'Get up brat, we have to get a move on!' Sasori said throwing Deidara his now dry robe in his lap. Deidara blushed as he caught a glimpse of his master's firm body before Sasori pulled his own Akatsuki robe on. He didn't know why but he suddenly felt butterflies in his stomach.

As Deidara dressed, Sasori collected his things together, and opened the latch to Hiruko, climbing in. As much as Deidara appreciated the skill and art of Sasori's puppet, he was a little disappointed not to be able to see Sasori as they travelled together.

'your cloak is dry, but its still cold outside so wear your hat to protect you against the strong wind, we will be going through a village before we reach the waterfall village, so keep your identity covered too!' Sasori ordered, closing the latch of Hiruko. Deidara nodded and stood up, before he felt a sudden dizziness spread over him. He winced and rubbed his forehead, trying to steady himself.

'What is it brat?' the gruff voice from within Hiruko said. Deidara shook his head and smiled weakly.

'Nothing Danna un...just got up too fast.' Deidara replied. Sasori seemed to look at him for a second too long before activating his charka strings and moving the puppet towards the entrance of the cave.

'Keep up with me, if you slow me down I'll leave you behind...' Sasori said as he moved away. Deidara rubbed his head again before shaking it off and following his master.

***Kirigakure***

Deidara's stomach grumbled by the time they reached Kirigakure, but despite his hunger he was excited to be here; it was his first time he ever travelled so far away from the land of rock. Sasori agreed to allow Deidara a lunch break, considering they still had a long journey to do, but warned him to not bring any attention to himself when they arrived.

Deidara was surprised Sasori knew his way around, as the entire village was covered in mist, it was extremely difficult to see anything in front of them.

'Danna, how do you know your way around un? The entire village is covered in Mist?'

'That's why it's called Village hidden in the mist, Moran!' Sasori replied sarcastically.

Deidara pouted at Sasori, as he walked close to his puppet shell; he didn't want to get lost in the mist. Sasori smiled slightly in amusement, he liked for once to be the annoying one between them. '...I know brat, because I have travelled here many times on missions.'

'Have you travelled around a lot Danna?' Deidara asked interested.

'All across the land.' Sasori replied proudly, 'whilst in Akatsuki, you have to get use to travelling on missions far and wide.' Deidara rested his arms behind his neck and smiled, he loved exploring and seeing the world, that sounded exciting to him. As they walked through the main village street Deidara couldn't help but find it strange to see the street empty, did anybody even live in the hidden mist village?

'Danna, why is the street so empty? Where is everybody un?' Deidara asked, his eyes squinting in the mist for signs of other villagers.

'They are all here, but in hiding...' Sasori replied coolly.

'huh?...why?' Deidara asked, and sure enough out of the dense fog and mist he could just about make out misty figures lined up by the side of the street, most hiding behind something as they watched Sasori and Deidara pass.

'They are hiding from us brat...some villages like this do not interfere with us when we enter their village; the ninja wisely avoid us as they fear their village being corrupted by Akatsuki, that is why they are hiding.'

'They know who we are un?' Deidara asked surprised, looking at cautious villagers.

'Every village in the land recognise our attire brat, they simply know not to cross us, and in return we pass their village quietly without attacking—Hidan being an exception.' Sasori added smoothly. Deidara nodded, watching as the villagers looked at them in fear as they passed.

Sasori's puppet shell suddenly stopped, as he turned to a small noodle cafe.

'We will stop here, eat quickly brat.' He said moving to a bench as Deidara sat down eagerly. The noodle chef froze horrified as the two Akatsuki members sat down, other customers dropped their chopsticks in horror.

'What do you eat brat?' Sasori's gruff tone came from Hiruko.

Deidara quickly scanned the menu before smiling, 'Bakudan un!'

Sasori's puppet looked expectedly over at the waiter, who immediately jumped and got to work on his dish. Sasori watched amused at Deidara as he felt a little uncomfortable at everyone staring at him in horror, Deidara couldn't tell because of Hiruko, but he was quite certain Sasori was very use to this.

'Aren't you having something to eat Sasori no Danna un?' Deidara asked, trying to ignore everyone staring at him.

'No, I don't require any food.'

'You mean you don't need anything at all?'

'...that's what I said brat.'

'what about rice?'

'...No.'

'you must eat Sushi un?'

'No brat.'

'...not even Bakudan?'

'That is categorised as food brat, so no!'

'But... What about deserts un?'

Sasori raised his eyebrow at this odd question; Deidara sometimes came out with the strangest thoughts.

'Why would I eat for unnecessary reasons? I no longer contain human taste buds, consuming food would be pointless to me.' Sasori replied simply. The waiter came back with Green tae and Deidara's dish and sat it down quickly in front of him, almost spilling it as his hands shook with fear. Sasori gave him an impassive stare and Deidara was simply stunned this guy actually feared him. The waiter hesitated before bowing and quickly scrambled away.

'Wow un' Deidara whispered. Sasori raised an eye brow.

'What is it brat?'

'Did you see that waiter un?' Deidara exclaimed. Sasori simply looked in the waiter's direction and then back to Deidara with his eyebrow still raised.

'What about him brat?'

'see how he was shaking? He actually feared me un!' Deidara said excited, feeling power surge through him. Sasori rolled his eyes.

'Yeah it's hard to believe he fears a brat like you...' he replied sipping his green tea just to appear normal. Deidara ignored him as he looked around the cafe, just like the waiter, everyone else quickly avoided eye contact with him. It felt great...Deidara had never felt this kind of fear and respect his whole life.

'Hurry up and eat brat, and take that stupid hat off, you cant wear that inside!' Sasori growled.

'but Danna, I though I had to keep my identity secret un.'

'Never mind that, after this mission, word will spread like wildfire of a new Akatsuki member...it's been a while since I've been spotted without a partner.' Sasori said, his eyes suddenly focused on something Deidara couldn't see. Deidara bit into his dango, forgetting how hungry he was. The taste was delicious.

'you mean Orochimaru? He was your last partner right un?'

'that's correct, we were known to be partners by all villages, although I despised him we worked well in missions together, he was talented ninja...you are his replacement, so you better not show me up.' Deidara chewed his food in deep though as he stared at Sasori...was there any partner Sasori actually didn't hate?

'where is he now Danna?'

'I am not aware of his location, nor do I have any interest in being so, he left Akatsuki and frankly I never want to see or hear from him again!' Sasori replied darkly. Deidara swallowed his food and felt a small jolt in his stomach...he wanted to know more about Orochimaru, and why Sasori hated him. What if Deidara did something for Sasori to hate him as much. Although the puppet master was cold and hateful to him most of the time, Deidara couldn't bear to hear Sasori say them words about him.

Silence passed through them, but only because Deidara was eating away. Sasori stared at him as he bit down on the food, wondering how it tasted, wishing he could savour the flavour he had long since forgotten. Deidara looked up from his plate, and noticed Sasori stare at him. A part of him felt sorry for Sasori, sorry that he couldn't taste anymore.

'You want to try some Bakudan Danna?'

'I told you brat I have no sense of taste!' Sasori replied a little annoyed, as if Deidara was teasing him.

'Please Danna just try it, you will never know until—'

'Didn't you hear me brat? I told you no, now shut up and eat!'

'...I could tell you how it tastes Danna, maybe then you will start to—' Sasori rolled his eyes and snapped the chopsticks out of deidara's hand.

'FINE, if it will get you to shut up!' Sasori said, shoving a mouth full into his mouth. Deidara looked at him eagerly, as he chewed the food glaring back.

'Do you taste it un?'

Sasori shook his head annoyed. Deidara sat up straight in his chair and looked at Sasori desperately.

'Don't you taste anything?...the softness of the boiled egg...wrapped in crispy surimi...with a slight spice of soy sauce...'

As Sasori chewed, a sudden faint trace of flavour shot through his tongue, making him sit up alarmed. Not in twenty years had he ever felt that sensation. Deidara watched him eagerly, wondering if anything was happening.

'Well Danna un?'

'...I...' Sasori didn't know how to put this, what to say, he was still in shock from that experience. How was it possible, why could he taste something denied to him since he turned his body into a puppet? Before Sasori had a chance to say anything, both his and Deidara's eyes widened slightly before both simultaneously dodged out of the way as a couple of dozen kunai flung violently to their table.

Villagers screamed, and ran from the cafe. Sasori glanced quickly over at Deidara, and was impressed to see that, like him, Deidara had foreseen the assault and avoided it smoothly.

*THUD THUD THUD!*

Another dozen shot through the air, Sasori activated his charka blue strings tightly around the table leg and moved it in front of them as a shield as more kunai was aimed at them, landing deeply into the wooden table.

'Were being attacked again un?' Deidara asked wildly, turning to his master while crouching.

'Get use to it brat!' Sasori replied coolly, keeping his eyes on the enemies. A guard ceased the attacks and stood in a fighting stance, glaring at the two Akatsuki members. His eyes widened slightly, taking in Sasori's young appearance, he had expected the puppet master to be much older; He knew the red headed one must be Sasori due to his blue puppet strings, but he had no idea who the blond haired member was.

'Sasori "of the red sand" and...' the male hesitated, squinting his eyes as he glanced at Deidara, trying to identify him, 'and... Your unknown partner, what business do you have being in our village?' he demanded. Sasori looked at him impassively, before almost lazily answering back.

'We have none, we are just passing through.'

'You have no right to cross through our village, criminals are not welcome here, especially the Akatsuki!' the man shouted back angrily. Sasori sighed loudly...he was keeping the leader waiting longer, and did not have the patience to fight these men, he also wished he was hidden in Hiruko, his body felt exposed as not many people had seen Sasori in true from and lived to tell the tale.

'Is that so?' Sasori asked, looking more bored than ever, 'in that case we will be on our way.'

All the guards suddenly got into their fighting stance.

'Not so fast, you're not going anywhere, you are under arrest for conducting in a criminal organisation as well as the crimes against your village!' he shouted back, before moving his eyes to Deidara, looking at his slashed head band, 'I assume you're a missing ninja, a traitor from Iwaukagure?'

Deidara smirked, 'What gave it away? The slash across my head- band hmm?' he replied sarcastically, and Sasori inwardly smiled.

The guard grit his teeth, noticing how they both weren't taking this very seriously.

'HEY! Mouthed hands?The rock village, I know you!' another guard suddenly said, pointing his finger at Deidara, 'you're the kid they supposedly killed, after they threw you out!'

Deidara's eyes narrowed dangerously, he didn't like being addressed as a kid, especially in front of Sasori.

'Nobody threw me out, I left un!' Deidara said, not entirely truthfully.

'The way I heard it you got kicked out for being a _Freak_ ,and beat up, some of the things I heard about you kid...ooohh, I'm sure your kage will be pleased to hear your alive, we all thought you were dead!' the guard said nastily. Deidara quickly threw a panicked glance at Sasori, before turning his eyes back to the guard, his breath tightening, and a slight blush appearing across his cheek. This was not good, he had to kill the guard quickly.

Sasori stared back coolly, he didn't know why, but for some reason what that guard said about Deidara got to him. It obviously got to Deidara too as he wasn't so quick on a retort.

'As much as we would love to stay around and chat...' Deidara said sarcastically, eyeing up the guard that insulted him, '...we have other plans un!'

Sasori nodded, his eyes still focused on the enemies 'That's right, we don't have time to delay our mission any further by fighting with you, so if you'll excuse us...' he said as the both turned to leave.

'Hmpt, wait till the Rock village hears about what's become of this freak!' the guard said smirking. Both Deidara and Sasori turned back slowly, Deidara's hand twitching by his clay pouch eagerly.

'What you say un?'

'You heard me, you fucking freaks get together in Akatsuki because no other village wants you!' the guard retorted angrily, smirking as he got their attention. Sasori would usually always let something like that go, but glancing at Deidara, he knew the blond took it to heart.

'It's a pity you won't live to tell the rock village then,' Deidara said spitefully, chewing a large lump of clay in his mouth. The guard scoffed, but looked a little apprehensive.

'Hmpt there is six of us and only two of yous, what are you gonna do?' he said boastfully. Sasori narrowed his eyes; obviously this Moran didn't have a clue who the Akatsuki really were. He activated his blue charka strings suddenly in the mood to fight.

'Be careful, they are both highly skilled Akatsuki members, one slip up and you dead!' the guard captain said cautiously, watching Sasori and Deidara; both of which seemed very relaxed that they were out-numbered.

'Whatever, I can take these freaks out now!' the guard said boldly, making a hand seal. Sasori was beginning to get annoyed with the guards lack of respect, and over confidence.

'Reckless I see, this should make it easier for us.' Sasori said, and before he even summoned a puppet from his scroll, Deidara's mouth hand spat out a tiny feeble clay insect. Sasori was just about to yell at him for joking around, before the insect suddenly enlarged five times its size and wrapped around the guard who had insulted him.

'Let's see what you make of this hmm,' Deidara said smiling wildly. The guard stumbled, and his eyes widened, all the guards stepped away hastily.

'Wha—what is this?' he demanded, struggling furiously, but no matter how much he struggled the long insect wrapped around him tighter, holding him securely in place. Sasori looked at the insect curiously, noting how it was moulded in perfect detail, impressed at the speed at which it grew in size.

'WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?' the guard demanded, sweat running down his fore-head as he began to shake with fear.

'This is my art, you get to see it up close, and soon you'll be a master piece, spread around for the whole village to see un!'

'No, No, No I dont wanna die, I dont wanna die...!' the guard screamed, trembling with fear as he began to cry. A tiny smirk flickered over Deidara.

'ah the truth comes out...only when your this close to death do you really reveal your true self...you're not quite the tuff guy you made out to be are you un?' Deidara said mockingly. Sasori noticed Deidara had that same wild look he had on his face the day he blew his class-mates hand off.

'GET THIS FUCKING OFF ME NOW YOU BASTARD!' the guard roared, struggling furiously. Deidara bathed in delight as the man struggled, relishing the power he felt surge through him. Lifting in arms into a Tiger hand seal, he smiled and shouted;

'KATSU!'

A explosion erupted throughout the village, the entire cafe was blown to bits covering the ground in rumble. As the smoke dispersed and the air finally cleared Sasori saw, first hand, the amount of damage deidara's bomb did.

Deidara smiled and turned to Sasori, 'what did you think of my art Sasori no Danna un?'

Sasori glared and summoned every ounce of charka to his fist before smashing it across Deidara's face, sending him flying to the ground. Deidara quickly cupped his bloodied cheek, looking up at Sasori confused and hurt.

'Danna wha—what did I'

'YOU STUPID BRAT! YOU JUST EXPLOYED THE ENTIRE CAFE UP, NOT TO MENTION ALMOST DAMAGEING ME!'

'Danna I'

'HOW MUCH CHARAKA DID YOU INFUSE INTO THAT?'

Deidara looked quickly down at his hand and shrugged, angering Sasori even more.

'YOU DIDNT EVEN THINK TO MEASURE, YOU DIDNT EVEN THINK THAT MAYBE IT WOULD DESTROY THE WHOLE PLACE AND PETENTALY KILL YOURSELF, YOU ALLOWED YOUR MIND TO RUN RECKLESSLY ALMOST RESULTING IN OUR DEATHS!' Sasori shouted.

'I'm sorry Danna un, I really am, please...I would never hurt you, ever, please Danna, please I'm sorry un!' Deidara pleaded, mentally kicking himself for his stupidity. Sasori's glare softened as he looked down at Deidara, blood running from his mouth. He looked away angrily and noticed all the guards were lying dead, their body parts all over the place. With a small sigh he turned back to Deidara.

'You killed them all...' he stated. Deidara quickly glanced, as if only noticing now; he was much more concerned with Sasori's anger with him. Sasori grit his teeth and sighed loudly, but softened his eyes as he took Deidara's hand and pulled him up to his feet.

'I guess I should praise you for that...' he said coolly, Deidara relaxed a little, 'However, next time when you decide to blow something up, you will think before acting, Understood?'

Deidara nodded obediently, spitting blood from his mouth; Sasori punched him really hard. Sasori felt his heart pang with guilt; sometimes he forgot his own strength, he didnt mean to hit him hard at all. Taking the end of his sleeve, Sasori wiped the blood of deidara's mouth, much to deidara's surprise.

'Come on; let's get a move on brat!' Sasori said, taking out a few coins from his pocket and placing them on a shattered, broken table; giving the waiter, who was crouching behind the counter, a hard look, before turning away. Deidara nodded and quickly placed his hat over his head, covering his face. The two Akatsuki members stepped over the dead body parts as the left to complete the mission.

***Akatsuki Base***

Hidan throw his cloak at the far end of the room before collapsing on his bed, swearing loudly.

'Fuck I'm glad to be back in this shithole, talk about the leader giving us a fucking almost impossible mission, the bastard!' he complained loudly. Kakuzu followed him in, frowning as he spotted Hidan's cloak thrown lazily on the floor.

'Keep your voice down Hidan, leader-sama could hear you know!' he said angrily. Hidan sat up, looking livid.

'So? Let him fucking hear! He's not the one having to go from village to fucking village after some fucking bounty!'

'I thought you'd be happy, you got to pray to that dammed Jashin of yours!' Kakuzu growled. Hidan's head shot straight up to meet his partner's eyes.

'Don't you fucking dare insult Jashin, you mother fucker! Show some fucking respect!'

'I show Jashin respect, the day you show our leader respect!'

'Oh fuck off!'

'...'

Hidan rolled around on his chest, huffing. Kakuzu sighed and sat down beside him on the bed.

'what's the matter Hidan? You have been acting this way the entire journey back!'

'Nothing, just leave me the fuck alone!'

'Hidan! Tell me what's wrong now!'

'I said fuck off!'

Kakuzu growled and angrily got up from the bed. 'Fine, forget it, I don't know what to make of you sometimes, you act like a complete psycho, I'm sick of your attitude!' he said storming off towards the door. Hidan glared at his back angrily.

'you wanna know what's fucking wrong?'

Kakuzu spun around quickly 'yes!' Hidan sat up straighter, glaring at his partner.

'every fucking time we go on a mission, you act like a complete bastard to me in front of people, you don't even step in when I need you until it's too late, and then you make me look stupid!'

Kakuzu's face went blank. 'Are you serious? This is your problem? You have got to be kidding me Hidan!'

'I'm not fucking kidding, you do it every time, and you don't see Kisame doing that to Itachi!'

'Hidan, that is not fair, they are different from us, I won't allow the outside world to know about our relations, its none of their business!'

'So that's why you're so fucking horrible to me, to save your stupid reputation as a bad ass Akatsuki member?'

'you know as well as I do Hidan that we are lucky to have even found each other, most ninja don't even contemplate romance, let alone criminal S-Class ninja, you think anyone would actually think Akatsuki members can feel these emotions?'

Hidan looked outraged, 'oh, so what your saying is you have me because you can have anyone else to fuck?' Kakuzu rubbed his temples angrily.

'That's not what I said, you're putting words in my mouth!'

'Why are you such a fucking dick? I mean, there I am, looking fucking cool with my scythe and you have to mess it all up by making me look stupid!'

'You make yourself look stupid Hidan!'

'You think your better than me don't ya? Just cause your old and wiser, you think you can take me on?'

'This is stupid, I'm leaving.' Kakuzu said rolling his eyes angrily.

'Yeah? Well you not! You a sad old fucking man! You hear me Kakuzu?'

Kakuzu slammed the door behind him, leaving Hidan to flop down on the pillow, fighting back tears.

***Akatsuki Kitchen***

Kisame grinned, shaking his head towards his partner 'looks like those two are at it again!' Itachi, who sat quietly beside him, didn't respond as he sharpened his Kunai.

'Sometimes I wonder why they are even together, if they can't stand each other.'

'hmmm.'

'maybe it helps that Kakuzu can not kill Hidan...they are like Zombie brothers!' Kisame said grinning. Itachi looked up at him briefly, before continuing with his work. Kisame's beady eyes creased slightly, Itachi was still visibly upset over his brothers decision.

'...I wonder how the kid is getting on in his first mission.'

'He proved himself to be above average in our training sessions.' Itachi replied quietly.

'Still though...he's very young to be in the Akatsuki...and partnered with Sasori no less, you know how his temper is when is does lose it.'

'Sasori rarely loses his temper, I have never seen him get worked up over obstacles that come his way...'

'yeah, but you know he has a short patience fuse, do you think he can really handle the kid?'

'Despite their different views on art, Deidara is a good kid, I can see Sasori will come round eventually...'

'You really think so?' Kisame asked surprised.

'...I hope he does, as much as Sasori insists he prefers his solitude, I feel he's rather lonely.'

'Sasori? Lonely? Come on Itachi...this is Sasori were talking about, he can barely stand being with us for long periods of time without width drawing back to his own room!'

'He may deny it, but puppet or not, everyone needs someone in their life to feel whole.'

Kisame looked deeply at his partner, before feeling guilty. He had always thought of Sasori as a width drawn, emotionless type, that only cared for his puppets. He was always by himself and outside of the group when they got together. He never commented on friendship or romance and frankly never spoke about how he felt. Kisame could now see he never really thought that his fellow Akatsuki member would ever feel lonely or isolated ; him and Itachi had each other, as did Hidan, Kakuzu, Pain and Konan, but Sasori was always in the background.

'so you think maybe there could be something there?' Kisame asked.

'Kisame, it is much too early to tell about anything like that, however I have my suspicions, I do believe he is fighting his own feelings, forcing himself not to have any, I guess time will tell...'

***The Hidden Waterfall Village***

Sasori stared impassively at his partner, tapping his foot impatiently.

'Well brat? What's taking so long?'

They had reached the Hidden Water Village after a few hours travel and was currently waiting a short distance away from the waterfall, hidden from any guards.

'Sorry Danna, I'm trying un.' Deidara said catching his breath as he performed another seal. He was trying to enlarge a small clay bird, so he could fly, but so far the bird had only increased three times it size, unfit to carry Deidara's weight.

'I told you to save your charka for later, why did you listen to me brat?' Sasori snapped, growing more and more impatient, looking at Deidara's pathetic attempts. Deidara was sweating, his charka low, and he could feel a head ache come on again like he did this morning. He didn't know why he was so low on charka.

'I'm losing my patience brat! Can you do this or not?' Sasori growled.

Deidara grit his teeth in concentration, as he made a Ram hand seal, focusing his mind all on the clay bird, slowly it began to get bigger. With one final extra push the bird suddenly burst into a brilliant soaring white bird, big enough to carry more than Deidara.

'What do you think of my creation Danna?' Deidara said exhausted, as he hopped onto his newly formed bird.

'I think it shouldn't take so long to do that, you have to control the amount of charka it eats up or you won't have enough for battle brat!' Sasori replied coldly, glaring up at his partner in the sun. Deidara hung his head, as he sat down exhausted on his bird; he knew Sasori was right, he had to find a way to do this without eating up all his charka.

'I'm sorry Danna, I will improve it I promise un.'

'Whatever brat, don't sit there looking at me, get a move on!' he replied. Deidara nodded and his bird came to life, stretching his wings out before soaring up high into the sky. Sasori watched from the ground

'—AND DONT KEEP ME WAITING BRAT!' Sasori shouted up after him, he watched from the ground as Deidara's bird rose high into the sky, above the clouds, circling the huge mountain until he found a hidden entrance up at the very top. He didn't know why...but he suddenly felt a little caution as he saw how high up Deidara was; did the brat have enough sense to hold on tightly and not fall? What if he got attacked the moment he entered the village.

Sasori put these thoughts aside, as he quickly made his way up to the entrance by the waterfall. Taking his scroll out he summoned Hiruko, and slipped comfortably into its hatch.

'Who goes there?' a man guarding the entrance spoke, squinting his eyes. As soon as he saw the red clouds on the black cloak he froze.

'A-A-Akatsuki? W-why are y-you h-here?'

'I have business with you Leader, now let me through.' Sasori replied coldly,

The guard shook his head, frightened, 'No, I c-cant d-do that!'

'I will ask only once more, let me through or I will kill you and pass through myself!' Sasori said, Hiruko's scorpion tale raised threateningly at him. The guard cowered back and quickly stepped aside, allowing Sasori entrance to the village.

Deidara flew up in the sky, feeling the slight damp breeze through his long golden locks of hair. He adjusted his eye scope and zoomed in, until he could see the streets of the water village clearly. It didn't take him long to find the Leader, as his temple stuck out vividly from the rest of village.

Flying down close to the ground, Deidara hopped off and landed neatly on his feet, surprising the guards that stood at the temple. They raised their weapons in defence, but were stopped by a sudden voice.

'No its okay, lower your weapons.' The leader ordered, walking down the temple steps to meet Deidara. He wore grey pants, a green shirt and ninja sandals, Deidara was surprised to see he was quite young looking.

'I take it your the leader then hmm?' Deidara said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at the guards.

'Yes I'm Shibuki, and you're of the Akatsuki, have you come alone? I though Akatsuki travelled in partners...'

'My Partner is waiting by the main entrance, for when the sound ninja's arrive un.'

'I didn't know who the leader would send, of course I don't know much about Akatsuki, nobody really does since your kept so hidden, but I feared your leader would send Uchiha Itachi, or Sasori of the red sand, from what I heard they are quite terrifying.'

Deidara decided it best not to tell him Sasori was the partner waiting by the village entrance, the leader already looked like a nervous wreck.

'you look very young to be an Akatsuki member, what age are you?'

Deidara couldn't believe he was being asked this, didn't the leader have any sense?

'I'm new to the Akatsuki, but rest assure I can do just as capable as Itachi or Sasori un!' Deidara replied a little heated. The leader looked taken back, as though he just realised what he had said.

'Oh please, forgive me, I meant no offence, you must be very skilled to be taken in at such a young age,'

'Right un...'

'and I hold no judgement on what you did to your village to become...uh...a "missing nin" as you guys are known as!' he laughed a little nervously. Deidara wished he would stop speaking, how was this idiot leader of a village.

'why don't you just bring me the hero water un?' Deidara said a little impatient, reminding himself of Sasori, who would have no patience for this man at all.

'Oh yes, well thank you for coming, I was a little weary on paying Akatsuki to help, but we as a village are too small to fight an attack, my only option left was to contact your leader, I hope you don't take offense but my villagers cannot know about this, they would be furious if they found out I was begging Akatsuki for help, even if it is to protect them, could you maybe come inside out of view?'

'Okay un...' Deidara replied, following him up the long temple staircase. Deidara got a sudden sick feeling in his chest as this scene brought up memories; even though it was months ago, it felt like only yesterday he was being dragged up steps just like these to "visit" the Tsuchikage.

Deidara was snapped out of his memories as the leader addressed him 'did any of the village see you?' the leader asked timidly.

'No of course not, I flew hidden in the clouds like I was ordered to un.'

The Tsuchikage nodded satisfied, guiding Deidara inside, all the while keeping weary glances on him.

'Will you relax; my order is to keep you alive, I have no intention of killing you un!'

'I know I'm sorry, I just can't help but be nervous around you...you are an Akatsuki member after all.'

'Look why don't you just give me the Hero's water, so we can be on our way hmm!' Deidara said, looking around the temple. The leader nodded and went behind a curtain leaving Deidara by himself. Deidara glanced around the room, horrible memories leaking into his mind.

_'tut tut, you have been a naughty boy, haven't you Deidara...'_

Deidara held his head, the voice of the Tsuchikage whispering in his ear.

'_Look at me!'_

_'Don't…u-un, p-please d-don't…'_

'_I said...Look at me!'_

'No!' Deidara cried harshly, gripping his hair tightly as he shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts.

_'It will soon be all over...'_

'Noooooooooo'

'—Excuse me? Are you alright?' the sudden voice of the leader broke Deidara's thoughts as he quickly spun around. Shibuki looked at Deidara confused.

'Huh? Oh...uh...did you get the hero water?' Deidara quickly asked, changing the subject.

'it's right here...' Shibuki replied, still looking at Deidara wearily as he handed it over, thinking maybe all Akatsuki members were insane.

Their hands gently brushed pass each other and Shibuki suddenly noticed the mouth hands on Deidara's palm. He snapped his hand back, flinching suddenly in slight disgust.

'Sorry un, I didn't mean to surprise you un...' Deidara said quickly, looking a little ashamed at his hands.

'No I'm sorry, I was just surprised...is that what you use to make your flying birds?' he asked, interested after getting over the initial shock.

'Yeah un.'

'That's quite unique, we have never heard of anything like that in the waterfall village.'

'hmm you wouldn't have, as far as I know I'm the only one with this ability un.'

'I see...'

Deidara gripped the little vile of hero water in his hand, staring into its watery depths.

'So what does this do un?' he asked curiously. The leader hesitated, not fully knowing whether he should tell an Akatsuki member this information.

'It's called hero water because it give the drinker a ten-fold increase in charka for a short period of time.' He replied hesitantly, a little nervous as he watched Deidara's eyes light up. Deidara looked at the vile of water, thinking of the amount of possibilities he could do with it. Getting revenge on his village would be possible, knowing he was strong enough...he could kill the Tsuchikage...end his own suffering...no wonder Pain didn't tell him what the Hero Water was back at the base.

'I don't know if handing this over to Akatsuki will be a fatal mistake, but your leader swore he would not use it to his own advantage, it will be brought back when the sound have safely gone right?' the leader asked timidly.

'Of course un, Akatsuki may be criminals, but we do not make false promises, if our leader said that then you can trust him un!'

Shibuki nodded, but didn't look very convinced. After a few moments of tense awkwardness he spoke up '...I know you...your of the hidden rock village,... Deidara right?' the leader said, Deidara's eyes widened surprised,

'How do you know that un?'

'Guards from your village came by a few weeks ago, looking to see if anyone here had seen you, they showed us a photo, I remember the hands...they said you were a wanted criminal and needed to be caught, they didn't mention you had joined Akatsuki.'

'They're looking for me?' Deidara repeated surprised. 'I don't think they know I'm in Akatsuki, I would prefer if you didn't inform them I was here un.'

Shibuki nodded, 'if you don't mind, the sooner you are gone from my village the better, if you are seen by any villagers it would be chaos for me.'

'Right un...'Deidara said, pocketing the hero-water into his cloak as he turned away, he stopped in his track and turned around to face the leader, 'you know you look very young to be the leader of a village un...'

'I am, my father was leader before me and died protecting the village after drinking the hero water, so the title got passed down to me...'

'No offense, but you don't seem like the strongest type to be leader, having to ask Akatsuki's aid in helping you is pretty low un.'

'I called on Akatsuki because I knew you wouldn't fail, the sound is too strong to go to war over, I hope now peace is upon us and we won't be disturbed again, I may be weak, and cowardly, but I would to anything to protect the village and the people in it.'

Deidara smiled, as he hopped onto his huge clay bird. 'I like you un...you protect your villagers, I wish my country had a leader like you un.' He said before spreading the bird's wings and soaring up into the sky out of view. The leader watched, a little surprised by what he said.

***Outside the Hidden water fall village***

A mile outside the hidden waterfall village, Orochimaru and his sound ninja walked insilence, they were very close to the village now, Orochimaru could almost taste the power he would have with the Hero water.

A sudden change in the air made Orochimaru stop suddenly in his track, lifting his gaze up to the sky. He caught a quick glimpse of a great white bird soar past the sun and into the clouds.

'Orochimaru-sama, are you alright?' a sound ninja walking behind him asked. Orochimaru ignored him and looked down to his feet, examining the earth beneath him. The other ninja looked confused at each other as they watched his odd sudden actions.

Orochimaru eyes suddenly narrowed and a smile appeared on his lips. A long trail was marked on the ground, only visible if truly examined, but Orochimaru knew this trail mark far too well. His snake like nostrils sniffed the air in delight, and his eyes lit up.

'Everyone keep your guard up, my ex partner Sasori of the red Sand is just ahead of us,' he said smirking, he looked down towards the ground again and brushed his slimy snake like fingers through the earth, 'and it appears he has replaced me with a new partner!' he smirked seeing the small foot prints of Deidara, just barely visible to the eye.

The sound ninja walked on ahead cautiously, but Orochimaru looked to the sky again. That was no ordinary bird he saw flying through the sky; that was some sort of Ninjutsu.

'...Sasori lets meet this new member that's stolen my partner and my place in the Akatsuki!' he said to himself, his mouth stretching into a disgusting slimy smirk.

_Hello fellow Naruto fans, I'm back!_

_I cannot apologise enough for not up-dating since October, but please understand I could not for reasons I am not going to bore you with. Just know that I was thinking of my story's from time to time, and I always knew I would update again as soon as I felt I could._

_On a brighter note, my English has improved a lot (I think) so hopefully I will not need a dictionary beside me every time I update!_

_Thank you to all the people who wrote to me, asking when I will update and begging me to continue, your the reason I write these and I hope you will not give up on me, I'm just so sorry for not updating, but know every chapter that is to come, I will work extra hard to give you a truly great story to read!_

_If you have anything you would like to be seen in my story (someone mentioned Deidara having a fever and Sasori nursing him) then please email me and I will do my best to include it to fill up the chapters!_

_Finally, for all my friends who emailed me around the Earth quake in Japan with lots of kind word thank you so much, especially from these three;_

_**Sunny4c12**_

_中国__加油！！！灾__难让我们变得更坚强。希望大家一起努力，珍惜现在__的__生活。__爱国，要从爱中国的人民做起，爱身边的每一个人，爱爸爸妈__妈，爱朋友同事，学会宽容，学会谅解。。。记住自己永远不变黄__色__的__脸，作为一个中国人，我深感自豪，努力，加油，希望祖国更美__好__！！__！_

_**Anoynamous **_

_不看清楚還以為是環球自己的。百幾二百個歌手及藝人，為何還__要有獨唱，幾個一起唱才看得到真的有很多演藝人參與。這只看__到幾位一線歌手和一大群臨記。_

_**Kakasulove**_

_Thank you so much, your words were very heart felt. I have no family there, but cousins and non was harmed. Seoul was not affected, but thanks for your prayers and I pray for them too._

_Thanks to __Nekotachi for emailing me, I'm sorry I didn't not reply, I wanted the update to be a surprise so...SURPRISE!^^ but really your email meant a lot to me, thank you so much! _

_Ohh Orochimaru is back, what will he make of Deidara, and how will Sasori react in seeing his ex-partner? I will update soon, please keep reading and reviewing with your kind words!^^_

_Thanks for reading!_

_Ninjashallow_


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